


Robotech Delta: AXIA, Love, Hate

by StokerFan



Series: Robotech Delta [3]
Category: Macross Delta, Robotech, Robotech Series - Jack McKinney
Genre: Explicit Sex, F/M, KanaMesa - Freeform, MesaKana - Freeform, Sex, Unprotected Sex, Walkure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:07:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 37,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21707209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StokerFan/pseuds/StokerFan
Summary: The war with Windermere continues. Walkure and Xaos try to uncover the mystery of the Robotech Masters ruins. Will this war come with a price they do not want to pay?
Relationships: Barry Wu/Naomi Singh, Hayate Immelmann/Freyja Wion, KanaMesa, MesaKana
Series: Robotech Delta [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543405
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

_Previously on_ **_Robotech Delta…._**

****

“Var syndrome is an outbreak of madness. Those affected violently attack everything around them like a berserker. It was first discovered on the planet Alfheim about four years ago. It has spread throughout the Brisingr Globular Cluster. It was discovered that fold waves from live music can suppress the systems. The Galactic Health Service, acting in concert with the Xaos Corporation, organized the tactical sound unit Super Dimension Venus Walkure, composed of singers who can generate these fold waves.”- Vice Admiral Benjamin Greenfeld, M.D., United Nations Galactic Health Service Commissioned Corps, Surgeon General of the United Nations, in [_Songstress Squad_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20953523/chapters/49818287)

ooooooo

“I am Chancellor Roid Brehm of the Kingdom of the Wind. Just today, we have defeated the United Earth Forces on the moon Voldor. In the name of His Majesty, Gramis Nerich Windermere, King of the Wind, we declare war on the United Nations, and announce our intent to liberate the Brisingr Globular Cluster!”- Chancellor Roid Brehm, Kingdom of the Wind, in [_Drums of War_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21409990/chapters/51007972)

ooooooooooo

“Already, I have received scathing communications from one hundred member states! How could we lose in an all-out counterstrike against Windermere itself? Over ten thousand ships, hundreds of thousand either dead or missing! Member state confidence in the administration has plummeted to all-time lows.”- Nozawa Noriko, Secretary General of the United Nations

oooooooo

Mikumo walks around elsewhere in the ruins.

“You are calling me,” she says. “Why are you calling me?”

She walks along this corridor, lined by stone walls. The corridor is at least twelve feet high; steel beams buttress the ceiling.

The singer finally arrives at this large chamber, over one hundred meters wide and about seven stories tall. There are tall stone columns. In the center of the chamber is a raised platform, maybe about fifteen feet wide or so.

Mikumo feels a synergy with this chamber.

oooooooo

“I will settle my score with the reaper later.”- Keith Aero Windermere

Ooooooo

“You can hold on, Messer. You always have.”- Xaos Wing Commander Arad Mulder

“Maybe not this time.”- United Nations Galactic Health Service Commissioned Corps Commander Naomi Singh, M.D.

Oooooooo

_And now…_

Located inside the giant space habitat known as Galaxy City, the United Earth Government headquarters is a huge building, housing the chamber, the conference rooms, and the offices of the delegates to the United Nations General Assembly, the supreme ruling body of the United Earth Government.

The over two hundred delegates, all chosen by their respective member states, have staffers to aid them in the details of legislative work. These staffers often travel between Galaxy City and their home countries.

One of these staffers is Leon Macron, a legislative aide to the delegate from France. A veteran of the Robotech Wars, he left the United Earth Forces fifteen years before, to pursue a civilian career, eventually becoming a legislative aide. He walks along the carpeted hallways, passing delegates and their staff.

He steps inside an elevator. There are a few people inside.

He recognizes one of them, a man with black hair and amber-complected skin. He wears white trousers, a white mandarin-collared shirt, and a white coat. One two-inch stripe and three one-inch stripes on each sleeve tell everyone that he is an admiral in the United Nations Ocean Patrol.

“Tzu,” says Leon. “It’s been such a long time.”

“Very much a long time, Leon,” replies Admiral Chen Tzu. Leon looks as much as he did fifteen years ago, with pale skin and brown hair, standing about five six. Like most male staffers, Leon is dressed in polished black shoes, black trousers, a white collared shirt with a necktie around the collar, and a black coat over his white shirt. The two men once had a joint duty assignment at Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command Headquarters on the moon Tirol, which happened to be Leon’s last military assignment.

“And where are you off to?” asks Leon.

“Off to testify before the Security Council,” says Tzu.

“About the war?”

“Of course.”

The steel doors of the elevator open.

“See you later, Leon,” says the admiral.

“You too, Tzu.”

Admiral Chen leaves the elevator and walks down the hallway./ He presents credentials to a blue-uniformed Assembly Guard at a security window. He hears a buzzer, and some double doors unlock.

This is perhaps the most secure area in any place under the jurisdiction of the United Earth Government, even more so than the Office of the Secretary General. Not even the Secretary General herself may enter here without an invitation or a summons from the Security Council.

The admiral arrives at another pair of double doors and he enters. He sees a thick glass-walled booth inside, and some people already inside. The glass booth prevents any eavesdropping. He walks through an opening into the glass booth.

Chen faces the chairman. The chairman is Prince Hadid, the delegate from Egypt, and the younger brother of the reigning Pharaoh, the admiral recalls.

“Welcome,” says the chairman. “State your name for the record.”

“Chen Tzu,” says Admiral Chen.

“Your present position.”

“Sir, I am an admiral in the United Nations Ocean Patrol and my present assignment is Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces.”

The admiral looks at the fifteen members in attendance. The Security Council is a committee of the General Assembly that oversees security and defense concerns of the United Nations and its member states. There are eight permanent members, as well as seven members chosen by rotation.

“Give us a brief background on Windermere,” says Hadid.

“Sirs and ma’ams, Windermere is believed to be a colony of Tirol, settled just before the advent of robotechnology,” answers Chen. “Records indicate that they tried to secede from the Robotech Masters, and the Masters laid waste to their world, which incidentally created the dimensional distortion around their planet. Forty years ago, the Pioneer Mission made contact with Windermere. A diplomatic delegation led by Dr. Emil Lang himself visited the surface, greeted by then-Crown Prince Worus Weyrich Windermere, who was the father of the current king, Gramis Nerich Windermere.”

“Continue.”

“Yes, sir. Roid Brehm, Chancellor of the Royal Court of the Kingdom of the Wind, announced a declaration of war against the United Nations and an intent to liberate the Brisingr Globular cluster. Scout ships confirmed that the moon Voldor had been conquered. In response, we ordered a retaliatory strike against Windermere IV itself, which was successfully repelled.”

Hadid recalls that. He could find it hard to believe that one planet could resist an all-out attack by over ten thousand war vessels. “anything else?” he asks.

“We had suspected that Windermere was somehow using Var syndrome to suppress opposition,” says the Supreme Commander. “We sent the band Walkure and their veritech support team, Delta Team, to Voldor to find out what is happening them?”

“A singing band?”

“Yes, sir. They are immune to Var symdrome, so they were the only ones who could do it. From what we found, sirs and ma’ams, the Windermereans had troops occupying the Robotech Masters ruins. And we also found out that these ruins somehow amplified the singing by Walkure. And there is one more thing. A strange song was heard both by the band and their veritech backup. This same song was also heard by the officers and crew aboard the SDF-5 _Ranger_ during the attack on Windermere. It is likely that this song somehow triggers Var.”

“And do you have any plans?’ asks the chairman.

“I have already ordered the remaining ruins in the Cluster to be secured,” says Admiral Chen. “The Robotech Research Center has already deployed research teams to inspect the ruins.”

“Thank you, Admiral. The others shall question you now.”

Oooooooooo

“Is this really necessary?” asks Xaos Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman.

He is rolled out of the machine. The machine that had examined the veritech pilot is large and rectabgular, with a tube inside that can fit one man.

“This is due to the anomalous readings Walkure detected on Voldor,” says Dr. Naomi Singh.

Hayate looks at the doctor. She is a woman, appearing to be in her late thirties, with black hair and brown skin. Her khaki shirt and long-sleeved shirts, the ribbons on the left side of her chest, and the silver oak leaf pin on her collar tell everyone that she is a commander in the United Nations Galactic Health Service Commissioned Corps. Commander Singh is assigned here by the Surgeon General to be his liaison with Walkure and the Xaos Corporation.

The teen can still remember that battle in the skies of the moon Voldor. He remembers feeling stronger when he heard that song sung by one of Walkure’s members, Freyja Wion. Because of this, he was sent for a full examination with Dr. Singh, who did the works, including blood tests, X-rays, MRIs, and blood pressure test using a cuff that raised a column of mercury.

“We are done here, Mr. Immelman,” says the doctor. “I will save these scans, and then I will go home and join my family for the Jellyfish Festival.”

“The Jellyfish Festival,” says Hayate. “I promised to help Chuck with the Ragnanyanyan booth there.”

“Maybe I will check it out with Barry and the kids,” replies Singh, standing a console attached to the huge medical scanner. “I never been to a Jellyfish Festival before.”

“But what about these tests, Doctor?”

“They can wait, and there’s no sign of any immediate health threats. I shall go now. You take care of your health, young Immelman.”

Ooooooo

The transport ship, built by Shinsei Industries, makes its final approach to the Xaos Ragna airfield. Soon the landing struts make contact with the assigned parking space for the shuttle.

There are only two passengers. Normally, interstellar transports transport thousands at a time, as interstellar transit uses a lot of protoculture, the fuel behind robotechnology. A ramp opens up and the two passengers step down, appearing to be a man and a woman. A black Toyota Avalon Hover Model approaches, and the driver steps out.

“Kelly Winter, your concierge,” she says. “You must be the VIP’s from the Robotech Research Center.”

“We are,” says the man. Kelly looks at the man, who has pale skin and reddish brown hair wuith gray streaks; he appears to be in his late fifties. He wears eyeglasses on his facem, gray trousers over his legs, a white-collared shirt around his torso, and a blue necktie around his collar. The purple-haired woman wears a short-sleeve white blouse and a green skirt.

“I can drive you to the office and escort you to Captain Johnson.”

The two visitors look at the building that houses the headquarters of Xaos’s Brisingr Globular Cluster Fleet. It looks so close, but only because the building is so big. They get inside the air-conditioned car and Kelly drives off. They notice a liot of work being done around the building, with cranes standing right next to it.

They soon reach a reserved parking lot right by the side of the building. Kelly escorts the guests inside one of the entrances, using her Xaos ID badge to unlock the doors. They walk along the hallways and ride through some elevators and Side-A-Vators®™, passing people in business outfits along the way.

And finally, they reach a large office. The office looks typical, with leather chairs, a varnished wooden desk covered with a glass surface, a wooden bookshelf with books, and a wooden file cabinet.

Sitting behind the desk is a man with green skin and black hair. Even whiole sitting, the visitors could tell that he must be seven feet tall. He wears a white collared shirt with a black necktie around the collar.

He stands up and extends his hand. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he says. “I am Ernest Johnson, Fleet Captain for the Brisingr Cluster Fleet, Xaos Corporation. Among our contracts is providing fleet support services for the treatment of Var syndrome in conjunction with Walkure, and lately, providing support services for the United Earth Forces in the War with Windermere.”

“I am Dr. Louie Nichols,” says the male visitor. “Consultant Researcher from the Robotech Research Center. This is my assistant, Janice Em.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Captain Johnson,” says Janice Em.

“Lady M told me to expect you here,” says the captain.

“She and I go quite a way back,” replies Dr. Nichols. “Anyway, we need your help. The Center has sent research teams to several planets in the Cluster with Robotech Masters ruins. I myself went to visit the ruins on Planet Alfheim.”

“what did you find there?”

“The ruins have the ability to amplify bio fold waves, similar in principle to what you use to amplify the fold waves by Walkure’s live music,” says the doctor. “We need to scan these ruins while Walkure is singing close by. When is Walkure available for an impromptu concert at one of the ruins?”

“I will of course have to speak with Walkure,” says Captain Johnson. “I will let you know what times are available.”

“Thank you for this opportunity, Captain,” says Dr. Nichols. The consultant researcher reaches into his shirt pocket. “Here is my card; it has my direct phone number and e-mail.” 


	2. Chapter 2

_Like this, that and this and a_

_It's like that and like this and like that and a_

_It's like this, and who gives a fuck about those?_

_So just chill 'til the next episode_

The band sings a cover of the 20th Century classic “Nuthin’ But a G Thang Baby”, first sung by Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg and released back in 1992, on stage. Many people dance to the classic tune under the Ragnan night sky.

The band is playing at the Jellyfish Festival on the waterfront in Barretteburg on Planet Ragna, to celebrate the Ragnan jellyfish. There are so many booths. Many of them sell jellyfish-inspired food items such as jellyfish tacos, jellyfish hoagies, deep-fried jellyfish, Cajun jellyfish pasta, etc. Others sell souvenirs with a jellyfish theme.

Among the hundreds of people attending the Jellyfish Festival are Naomi Singh, her husband Barry Wu, and the three children that they had together. The children marvel at the sights of the festival, as it is their first time.

“I want some more jellyfish mac and cheese,” says the oldest child, a girl of about eight years old.

“You want to be able to sample some more variety of jellyfish food,” says her father.

“And if your tummy’s too full, it will hurt and you won’t enjoy the festival,” says her mother.

“Okay.”

They walk down the path, feeling the slow breeze, noting the guests in all sorts of clothes.

“There they are,” says Naomi.

One of the booths has a sign reading “Ragnanyanyan.” Appetizing odors spread from the booth. She, Barry, and the kids approach.

“Jellyfish buns for sale,” says Makina Nakajima.

“Get them before they run out,” says Zack Mustang.

“Hi,” says Naomi.

“Hi there,” says Chuck Mustang.

“And who do we have here?” asks a man in a white apron and chef’s hat.

“Dr. Naomi Singh, Surgeon General’s liaison with Walkure and Delta Team,” answers Naomi. She introduces her husband Barry and her children.

“This is my dad, Max Mustang,” says Chuck. “He is the head chef and owner of Ragnanyanyan.

“That place we were at before Mom went to space for a couple days,” says their eldest daughter.

“The one and only,” says Max. “Only Ragnan-Chinese fusion cuisine.”

Naomi looks at Max. A man with a tan and black hair, he is short and stout. “Anything to eat?”

  
“Not our full menu of course, just the jellyfish ramen an’ the deep fried jellyfish an’ the jellyfish buns,” says the head chef. “Well, we have a discount menu at the main restaurant, since I’m not cookin’. But Miguel’s a good cook. With Lisa and Peggy servin’ at the place, things should be fine there.”

Freyja Wion jumps on a crate and starts singing.

_Wavy waving on the waves_

_Wavy waving on the waves_

_Waving with him today_

Barry, Naomi, and the kids smile as the Walkure singer sings.

Naomi walks around the back.

“Hayate,” he says.

The blue-haired teen turns around, seeing a dark-haired woman that seems unfamiliar to him.

“Who are you?” he asks.

“Naomi. Dr. Naomi Singh.”

The Xaos pilot officer’s eyes widen. “I didn’t recognize you, ma’am,” he says. “I mean, you’re not in uniform.”

“Well, I have more clothes than my Health Corps service khakis.”

Hayate Immelman looks at the woman. Instead of the khaki shirt and skirt with all the ribbons and pins, Naomi wears a sleeveless white blouse and a blue skirt.

“Barry Wu,” says Barry, extending his hand. “I am Naomi’s husband. Been married for ten years now, since she was in the Spacy Medical Corps.” He looks at the teen, wearing a blue-trimmed white T-shirt and blue shorts.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” replies Hayate, shaking his hand. “Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman of Delta Team.” He looks at him, an amber-complected man with black hair and wearing a T-shirt and jeans.

Barry introduces the kids.

“Nice to meet you all,” says Hayate. “Got to cook these jellyfish buns.”

“Mr. Wu,” says Mirage Sterling, who is standing next to Hayate. “Great to see you again. And your kids, they’ve grown since the last time I’ve seen them!”

“Kids grow up fast,” answers Barry.

“No kidding,” says Naomi. “I remember when I was a medical cadet nearly twenty years ago; I had not finished puberty yet! I hope you are all feeling healthy.”

“I sure am, Doctor,” answers Hayate. “You know, it’s kind of funny. I got an e-mail from Trans Galactic, saying that are offering to hire everyone back that they laid off, including me.”

“Oh really?” asks Mirage.

“Yes, apparently, the war increased demand. I sent a reply telling them that I found a career that’s a little bit more lucrative.” Hayate looks around at the crowds passing by the booth. “I wonder why there are so many couples out tonight,” he says.

The others look and notices many men and women holding hands and even kissing and fondling each other- acts that would have sent the Zentraedi of six decades ago into a catatonic state.

“The jellyfish festival is an event for lovers,” says Max.

“Legend has it that if a couple confesses their love under a jellyfish for this night,” says Makina, “they’ll be forever bound together.”

“Isn’t that interesting?” asks Barry. “Well, I’d better prepare on how to confess my love to my dear Naomi.”

He and Naomi kiss.

“Tonight, everyone’s wearing matching underwear,” says Reina Prowler, dressed as a jellyfish bun.

“Matching underwear?” asks Mirage.

“Rei-rei, there are some things a lady shouldn’t say,” says Makina.

“I’m just tired.” Reina yawns to accentuate the point.

“Well, you were playing _20 th Century Classics_ all night last night until sunrise!”

“Well, I like _Sonic the Hedgehog_. And _Mario Kart 64_. And _Legend of Zelda_. And _Castlevania_.”

“Sterling,” says someone. “Mirage Sterling!”

Mirage looks and sees a woman with blond hair under a peaked cap. She wears the Class “C” United Nations Spacy service uniform, which is polished black shoes, a white skirt, and a white shirt-sleeve collared shirt. Colored ribbons pinned to the left side of her chest tell the story of her service, and the two shoulderboards, each with one one-inch stripe and one half-inch stripe, tell everyone that she is a second lieutenant.

“Campbell,” she says.

“Just out on shore leave from the _Leonard_ to visit this festival,” says Second Lieutenant Ann Campbell.

“Good to see you again,” says Arad Mulder.

“You too, sir,” replies Ann. The Delta Team wing commander looks pretty much the same as he did when she first saw him in Space Station Brisingr- brown hair, brown goatee, six feet tall. Arad wears a red polo shirt and jeans.

“And I am here to keep her and the others in Rouge Squadron out of trouble,” says a man.

Arad notices the man is wearing the male version of the Spacy Class “C”, which has white trousers instead of a white skirt. The two one –inch stripes and one half-inch stripe tell everyone that he is a lieutenant commander.

“Arad Mulder, Wing commander of Delta Team,” says Arad.

“Lieutenant Commander Roy Yamada, commanding officer of Rouge Squadron, currently deployed aboard the _Ikazuchi_ -class carrier U.E.S. _Anatole Leonard_ ,” replies the veritech pilot.

“Nice to meet you in person, Lieutenant Commander.”

“Nice to meet you in person as well, Wing Commander.”

“And I am the XO of Delta Team,” says another man.

Commander Yamada looks at the man. Short-cropped black hair, a black polo shirt over his torso, black slacks, and black shoes. The leader of Rouge Squadron introduces himself.

“Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield,” he says. “Second in command of Delta Team. I thank you for the backup.”

“You are welcome.”

“Mesa-Mesa is here,” says Makina. “I never expected that.”

“Well, it looks like there’s a party around the Ragnanyanyan booth,” someone else says.

“Colonel Wolff,” says Oilfield.

Immediately, Yamada salutes upon seeing the colonel’s rank insignia. Wolff is wearing the Space Marine Class “C”- olive-green peaked cap, collared olive-drab khaki shirt, olive-green trousers, polished black shoes, with all the decorations and pins and insignia. He holds a plastic cup with an alcoholic beverage in his left hand.

The commander introduces himself.

“At ease, Commander Yamada,” says Colonel Johnny Wolff, returning Yamada’s salute. “I’m here to enjoy the festival. I wish I could have brought my wife and two boys to be here with me.”

“I can see you were commissioned just before the Robotech Wars ended, sir,” says Commander Yamada, looking at Wolff’s decorations.

“I was one of the lucky ones,” says the colonel. “I lived. My dad didn’t. He was stranded on Earth during the Occupation, and died resisting it. He got the Purple Heart, the Invid Resistance Medal, a United Earth Forces Cross, and a posthumous promotion to brigadier general as a reward for his troubles.”

Mirage winces upon hearing Wolff’s story. Her own father of course survived the war, but he had been stranded on Earth during the Occupation, separated from his family for thirteen years. That thirteen-year separation had caused so much grief.

Freyja gets back on to the crate to sing a song.

“Here is a song that is a classic from Earth,” she says.

_Ice Ice baby_

_Ice Ice Baby_

Ooooo

Two hours later, there are glowing lights on the surface of the ocean just outside the festival grounds.

It is time.

It is time for the jellyfish to rise.

Many people gather on the pier, with some people lifting little children on their shoulders. A news crew stands by, aiming the video cameras towards the ocean. In the distance is downtown Barretteburg, under its clear dome.

“A war isn’t gonna stop us from having some fun,” says Chuck. “I just wish there was a special lady under here for me.”

“Me too, Chuck-Chuck,” says Makina. She suddenly realizes what she had just said. “Oh, not a special lady of course, a special guy.”

“Yeah, that kind of thing is taboo in many places,” says Hayate.

“Wait, isn’t that Mesa-Mesa over at the other pier?” asks Makina. “And that’s Kane-Kane.”

Among the people standing on the wooden pier is Messer Oilfield, looking pensive. Kaname Buccaneer approaches him.

“Arad told me what happened,” she says.

Messer looks at her. Kaname has short red hair and pale skin. She wears a sleeveless white blouse over her torso, black trousers over her legs, and a brimmed hat on top of her head. Around her hat is a yellow band.

“Yes,” replies the squadron leader. “The Var outbreaks seem to be more severe, no doubt due to the triggering song. I don’t know if I’m vulnerable.”

“You managed to suppress this before.”

“That song was not playing before,” says Messer. “And it triggers Var, even when you and the others are playing. I do not know if I am endangering the others, endangering you.”

“Where would you go, Messer?”

“I still have to figure it out.”

“What about family?”

“Family. It’s not the best thing to talk about.”

“I understand,” replies Walkure’s lead singer. “Well, you know, I liked the way Freyja sang cover of that old Earth song.”

Messer looks out at the sea, at the lights below the surface.

“I feel like I can tell you. About my family situation.”

“What was it like?”

“Well, my mom had me when she was sixteen,” says Messer. “She said my dad was some married man who left when she found out she was pregnant.”

“Oh.”

“My grandparents kicked her out because she brought dishonor on the family. She signed up for, and was accepted, on a colonization mission to the Planet Alfheim.”

“What happened?” asks Kaname, even though she dreads the answer.

“She would beat me for every slight. All of her frustrations, she took out on me. And she would blame me for getting her angry.”

“I understand.”

“It kept happening. About fifteen years ago, she got married. She had a baby girl- my younger half-sister Shammy. Three years later, her husband, my stepfather and Shammy’s father- walked out on us to hook up with a young girl. She brutally beat me, blaming me for that man leaving. After that, I left. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“Did you report it?”

“I did. Nothing came of it.”

“What happened afterward?”

“I drifted around. I spent a lot of time in libraries to pass the time. I studied hard. I managed to get an ROTC scholarship through the United Nations Air Force. I attended Alfheim University, and after graduation, I was commissioned into the United Nations Air Force and became a veritech pilot.”

“And you eventually became infected with Var, and you ended up with Delta Team,” says Kaname.

“I tried to get custody of Shammy after I graduated college and became a veritech pilot. I spent all of my pay on hiring an attorney. Then I had that Var syndrome, ended up killing some of my fellow pilots. I was being treated as an inpatient at an Air Force psychiatric hospital on Earth.”

“Yes, that’s where Arad and I first met you.”

“And my involuntary hospitalization scuttled any chance of me getting custody of Shammy. The family court rejected my case, and the Supreme Court summarily affirmed it. If I hadn’t been infected with Var!”

Kaname places her hand on Messer’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

My mother contacted me by e-mail; she must have found my e-mail address. She wants to reconnect with me!”

“I wish I knew what to say.”

And then the jellyfish rise from the sea, glowing as they do so.

Hayate Immelman looks in awe and wonder, not having seen anything like this before despite his many travels throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.

“They are the color of life,” says Freyja. 

Barry Wu and Naomi Singh kiss, their hearts racing, feeling the intimacy of husband and wife, the best kind of intimacy in this physical Universe.

Chuck, Zack, Hack, and Marianne all watch.

Arad Mulder smiles.

“I never get tired of this,” says Kaname, sipping an alcoholic beverage from a plastic cup.

“Kaname,” says Messer. He gives her a bracelet.

The Walkure manager presses a tiny button, and a hologram appears, reading “AXIA”

“This song saved my life,” says the Delta team squadron leader. “It called out to me during that county fair. When I came to, I heard you singing on that stage, despite what was happening around you. You were the light guiding me back to my sense of self. I owe my life to this song. Thanks to your song, I got to live.”

“Messer.”

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

Kaname looks at Messer. He is one of the best men in the world.

The two of them gaze at the jellyfish as they continue to rise, their tentacles swaying.

“You’re beautiful,” says Messer. “May I kiss you?”

Kaname’s heart races. No one has told her that before, aside from random catcalls by jerks more interested in an angry reaction than a desire for a one-night stand, let alone a long-term relationship.

She kisses him.

“Yes.”

He then leans in and kisses.

“What was that?” she asks.

“Me kissing you. You did say yes.”

He holds her hand.

They walk out of the festival area together, as the jellyfish continue rising.

After about half an hour, they reach Kaname’s place.

This is it.

It is now or never.

They kiss.

Their hearts race.

Kaname’s hand ends up underneath Messer’s shirt.

They both feel nervous.

Messer removes his shirt, revealing a well-muscled chest.

Kaname notices scars on his back.

She leads him into their bedroom.

They continue kissing.

Her clothes come off.

Messer seems Kaname’s breasts, encased in a white lacy bra.

She unhooks her bra, letting it fall onto the carpeted floor.

Messer stares at her bare tits. They are pale, with dark areolas surrounding her nipples.

He rubs and caresses them feeling their softness.

She takes pleasure in feeling his palms rubbing over her boobs.

His pants drop down.

Kaname can see his penis, fully erect. She had only seen pictures of them, not one up close and personal. The veins are throbbing in anticipation of entry.

Entry into her, into her most feminine, most intimate of places.

She touches his dick, and he responds, the male organ getting even larger.

They can literally smell their combined passion.

“You want this,” says Messer, his tone more of an observation than an inquiry.

“Yes,” replies Kaname.

She pulls down her panties, and he can see the red fuzz above her feminine opening.

She lays down on her bed, spreading her pale thighs.

He sees her vulva, with its labia framing her vaginal opening, the gateway to her femininity and her fertility. It is the most beautiful sight possible.

And the parting of her lips is all but an invitation.

He gets on the bed, between her legs, and lowers himself down.

His glans makes contact with her lady lips.

Their hearts race.

They start to sweat.

And then his penis plunges into her vagina, breaking open her hymen, the veil of her virginity.

Kaname takes a deep breath as his manhood first enters her womanhood.

For five minutes, they just lay there, his stiff, erect dick inside her sopping wet pussy, the pain of the past melting away.

He then slowly pulls out his stiff boner and then pushes back in to her feminine passage.

They both feel the sides of his cock rubbing against the sides of her cunt.

They are filled with ecstasy.

There is no better touch possible.

They breathe heavier.

His thrusts increase in speed.

She rubs his back.

He rubs and kisses her tits.

They kiss each other on the lips.

He grunts with each thrust of his rock hard fuck tool.

She moans meeting each thrust into her fuck sheath.

Their bodies are drenched in sweat; their hair is soaked.

Lust and passion rise up to stratospheric limits.

Her pussy convulses as it radiates waves of pleasure throughout her body, and she deeply moans in response.

Primal lust concentrates into his dick.

He is at his breaking point.

He grunts loudly as he cums, ejaculating thick wads of seed past her cervix and into her womb.

For five minutes, he continues to thrust his erupting boner into her feminine canal, spurting more and more cum into her.

And then finally, he is spent.

The two of them lay next to each other, naked.

Nothing else exists for them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Louie Nichols and Janice Em watch as Walkure sings by the ruins on Al Shahal. How will the ruins react to them?

The _Aether_ is on orbit around the Planet Al Shahal, in the Brisingr Globular Cluster. The planet looks like a red and brown sphere, with several large blue spots. Al Shahal is presently orbited by many space vessels.

Inside the _Aether’s_ conference room, Captain Ernest Johnson, Dr. Naomi Singh, Walkure, and Delta Team all attend a briefing held by Dr. Louie Nichols from the Robotech Research Center.

“There are Robotech Masters ruins on al Shahal,” says Dr. Nichols. “Preliminary scans indicate they are similar to the ruins on Voldor, which reacted to Walkure’s singing. The plan is to fly Walkure down there where they can start sing. Janice Em and I will join the band and make scans.”

“And what is the tactical situation down there?” asks Wing Commander Arad Mulder.

“The ruins are located in a box canyon” answers the doctor. “Already, there is a combined arms battalion occupying the ruins, to protect against Windermerean attack.”

“We’d better gear up,” says Kaname Buccaneer.

Oooooo

Minutes later, Walkure gears up. The band members are all wearing MARPAT camouflage, flak jackets and helmets typical of light infantry.

“Looking good there,” Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman says to Freyja Wion.

“Well, it’s, uh, practical,” replies Walkure’s newest singer. “It’s amazing though. We’re heading down to the same planet where we first met.”

“Yeah.” Hayate could never forget that time, just two months ago, when he first spotted Freyja hiding in a container full of apples. He snuck her out of the Shahal City spaceport before the police could catch her.

Then came that Var syndrome outbreak, her singing along with Walkure, his commandeering a veritech fighter plane, which led to her joining Walkure and him joining Delta Team.

“Let’s get a move on, Immelman,” says Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield. “Walkure and our guests can’t go down to the surface without us.”

“Yes, sir,” replies Hayate. He himself is wearing blue-trimmed heavy armor over his flight suit

Oilfield goes to the hangar deck. He looks at his white black-trimmed Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighter plane. Below the canopy is stenciled **“S/L MESSER OILFIELD “DRILLER”.** He climbs up and ladder and enters the cockpit, turning on the instrument panel, making sure there are not any last-second surprises that could jeopardize this mission.

Nearby in the hangar deck, Dr. Nichols and Janice Em join Walkure inside a Rockwell International Star Sparrow shuttle.

They all strap themselves in with seat belts.

Delta Team deploys, with Wing Commander Arad Mulder launching.

Squadron Leader Oilfield checks his instruments and radar.

“Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield, callsign Driller, ready for takeoff,” he says.

“Standby, Driller,” replies the air boss.

He wonders what is going on.

He hopes Walkure will be safe- safe from the Windermereans.

Or him.

“Air Boss, to Driller, you are clear,” says the air boss.

“Driller, to Air Boss, taking off.”

The squadron leader pushes the throttle forward, and the Siegfried veritech fighter jet takes off. Soon, the others take off.

Finally, the Star Sparrow shuttle takes off, carrying Walkure and the researchers from the Robotech Research Center. The spacecraft all head down to Al Shahal.

Heat shields help dissipate the heat due to friction with the planet’s atmosphere.

On another ship, the Ikazuchi-class carrier U.E.S. _Anatole Leonard_ , orbiting about tone hundred meters to the portside of the Aether, the bridge crew monitors the descent of Delta Team and clown Car.

“They have just entered the atmosphere, sir,” says a crewman sitting at a console. “The detachment from Rouge Squadron is standing by to provide backup.”

“Acknowledged,” replies U.N. Spacy Captain Ken Chae, sitting on a chair where he can see the main display. His ship had been assigned to escort the _Aether_ and Walkure ever since that Var outbreak on this very planet down below, when the Aerial Knights of Windermere attacked Walkure during a concert.

After maybe half an hour, Wing Commander Mulder says, “Islander to Delta Team, we are approaching the target area. Driller, take Slacker and maintain a holding pattern up at about thirty thousand feet. Chef and Buckeye will accompany me and Clown Car to the tourist trap.”

“Roger Wilcox,” replies Oilfield.

He and Hayate stay up in the air as the other spacecraft descend.

“I should be down there, protecting Freyja,” says Hayate.

“It’s been decided, Immelman,” replies the squadron leader.

He briefly thinks of Kaname. Messer feels that he should be down there with her.

About ten minutes later, the Star Sparrow whose call sign is Clown Car lands in the canyon, its landing gears making contact with the rocky floor. Three Siegfrieds transform to look like forty-foot tall suits of armor, and then land on their feet near the transport shuttle.

A Humvee drives up to greet them.

Dr. Nichols, Janice Em, Dr. Singh, and Walkure all step out. The canyon walls are made of this reddish stone, rising some seven hundred feet.

A man wearing MARPAT camouflage and a flak jacket walks out of the Humvee to greet the guests.

“Greetings,” he says. “Colonel Shan, U.N. Army. I’m in command of the combined arms battalion securing this area.”

“Dr. Louis Nichols, Consultant Researcher with the Robotech Research Center,” says Nichols. “This is my aide, Janice Em.”

“Hello,” says Em.

“I am Mikumo Guynemer, center singer for Walkure,” says Mikumo.

“Kaname Buccaneer, manager,” says Kaname.

“Makina Nakajima,” says Makina.

“Reina Prowler,”says Reina.

“Freyja Wion,” says Wion.

“Dr. Naomi Singh,” says Singh. “Surgeon General’s liaison with Walkure.”

“What are your defenses here?” asks Nichols.

“The main force is located next to the ruins, while we have units stationed at the top of each side of this canyon. Allow us to take you to the ruins.”

And so they all board a transport truck. It takes only three minutes for them to reach the Robotech Masters ruins.

The structure looks similar to the ruins on Voldor. It is taller than it is wide, and has no sharp corners. It has a resemblance to some of the very few intact buildings on Tirol dating back when the Robotech Masters, a polity that spanned the Milky Way Galaxy, were at their height, a time when their galactic hyperpower status went undisputed.

The place is guarded by United Nations Army troops. Some of them are clad in Arimaki-Kakinuma Cyclone veritech armor, a veritech that can transform between a motorcycle and a suit of power armor. There are also MARPAT-camouflaged Bioroids, twenty-foot tall giant suits of armor first used by the Robotech Masters as recently as forty years ago, and now used by the United Earth Forces.

“Wow,” says Dr. Nichols. “I’m old enough to remember when I used to destroy Bioroids for a living.”

“Second Robotech War?” asks the colonel.

“Yup.”

“My drill instructor fought the Masters in the Second War. I guess he’s glad that the Masters were far from full strength when they attacked Earth nearly forty years ago.”

No interstellar power today, or any civilization within the past ten thousand years, could even match one-tenth the might of the Robotech Masters at their height. It is little wonder that Windermere- and most other peoples- were so interested in the ruins.

Kaname glances at her bandmates.

“Doctors, we are ready to sing,” she says.

“Then let’s do it,” says Nichols.

Mikumo starts singing.

_Welcome to Walkure World_

They sing the song “Walkure World”

Dr. Singh, Dr. Nichols, and Janice Em make sure to scan the bio fold waves and any sort of fold wave from the structure.

The ruins start to glow.

Hayate hears that the band had started singing.

He can feel it.

And then he hears something else.

“Slacker to Delta Team, I am hearing another song,” he says.

“Islander to Delta Team, I hear it too,” says Mulder.

Oooooooo

Somewhere on Windermere, Crown Prince Heinz Nerich Windermere sings. His parents are there with him.

The huge ring inside the chamber glows, amplifying fold waves.

“Wait,” says Heinz “Someone’s there.”

King Gramis Nerich Windermere looks as the ring grows brighter.

Oooooooo

“I’m detecting some amplification,” says Dr. Nichols. “It seems to be reacting with something else.”

“I feel someone,” says Freyja.

And then the whole Universe seems to consume her.

She sees herself and Mikumo in a dark place.

“Where are we?’ asks Freyja.

“It’s like we fell through a hole in reality,” answers Mikumo.

They see a silhouette of a humanoid figure.

“Mikumo!” yells Kaname. “Freyja!”

The two singers seem to be knocked out.

“It must be from these ruins,” says Em. “Dr. Nichols, we must..”

She and Kaname look at the consultant researcher.

He seems to be in a catatonic state.

They approach one of the U.N. soldiers.

He too, is in a catatonic state.

“No doubt that other song is responsible,” says Dr. Singh.

“Islander to Delta Team!” yells Wing commander Mulder. “That Wind Song is being amplified by the ruins. Look out for enemy bandits!”

High above the sky, a Windermere Space Force SV-262 Draken veritech pilot looks at this screen.

“Launch the first wave, Tornado Flight,” she says.

“Let’s ride the wind!” yell her subordinates.

“I’m detecting bogeys,” says Oilfield, looking at his radar screen. “Four hundred klicks and closing.”

“I can’t raise anyone,” says Hayate. “Air traffic control is offline.”

“Islander of Delta Team to unidentified aircraft,” says Mulder. “Do not approach or we will shoot you down. Please respond.”

“All units, release the toys,” says Tornado Leader.

The Drakens release several aerospace fighter drones, and they all home in towards the ruins.

The toys open fire on Hayate and Oilfield.

“They’re definitely hostile,” says Hayate.

“Delta Team to Tour Bus,” says Mulder, “we are under attack.”

“Get Walkure and our guests out of there!” yells Captain Johnson.

“Yes, sir. Buckeye, join Driller and Slacker in the air to keep the bandits busy. Chef and I will cover for Walkure as they make their escape!”

“We’d better head back,” says Kaname.

“I shall take Dr. Nichols,” says Em. She lifts the researcher and carries him over the shoulder.

The Star Sparrow shuttle is dozens of meters away.

If they can just get closer.

They need to escape.

They need to make sure Xaos and the United Earth Government has access to the data recorded on Al Shahal.

Oilfield knows this, shooting down the toys.

“Looks like there are some Drakens coming our way,” he says. “Slacker, keep the enemy cannon fodder busy.”

“Roger,” says Hayate. The squadron leader flies up. He manages to get one of the enemy veritechs in his sights.

He opens fire, and the veritech explodes, scattering robotechnology debris on the ground.

He dances around with the enemy veritechs, switching between the three modes. It is clear that these are not the Aerial Knights. For less than a fifth of a second, he wonders if the Knights are off doing more important business before focusing again on the battle. He again shoots down another veritech.

He can feel it.

He can feel the Var returning.

He plays that song, AXIA, from the speaker in his bracelet.

He must not lose himself.

Or he might kill her.

The veritechs continue their dance. Hayate is weaving around, making himself as difficult a target.

Tornado Leader looks at her radar screen.

“If we can take out Walkure, we could win this war,” she says. “I’m going in! Cover me!”

“Yes, ma’am,” two others in her team reply.

Hayate can see the three Drakens heading to the ground, to the canyon.

“Freyja!” he yells. “Slacker to Delta Team, they’re going after Walkure and I can’t shake this guy off.”

Down below, Kaname can see three veritechs in guardian mode- a mode that looks like a plane with arms and legs, approaching them. Even from a few hundred meters away, she can see they are Windermereans.

Tornado leader looks at the targeting system, and sees the band, with a space shuttle behind them.

“I got you now,” she says.

Her index finger is on the trigger.

Suddenly, one of her escorts blows up.

She squeezes the trigger.

And then a black-trimmed VF-31 Siegfried veritech guardian blocks the blast with its shielded arm. Already, dust and rock is being blown about.

The Siegfried fires its missiles at the Draken.

Tornado Leader registers the missiles in her eyes in just a tenth of a second before she is incinerated in the blast.

“Messer!” yells Kaname.

The canopy opens, and the squadron leader looks at her and the others.

She looks at him, seeing the veins bulging in his face.

“You need to evacuate!” he yells. “Get in!”

She, Freyja, Mikumo, Reina, Makina, Em, and Dr. Singh all go back inside the Star Sparrow, with Em carrying Dr. Nichols. Both the shuttle and Oilfield’s veritech rises. Soon they are rising into the skies of Al Shahal.

Walkure continues to sing. The bio fold waves are the only thing that prevents the troops below- currently in a catatonic state like Dr. Louie Nichols- from completely succumbing to Windermerean control.

“Islander to Tour Bus,” says Wing Commander Mulder. “Clown Car is in the air and we are escorting.”

“Good job,” says Captain Johnson.

He sits in the _Aether’s_ bridge, glancing at the officers and crewmen at the various consoles, monitoring the ship’s main systems.

“Prepare calculations for hyperspace fold to Ragna,” he says.

“Captain, we are detecting massive gravitational waves,” says Beth Morton. “Four thousand knots away. This object is huge.”

“A fleet just defolded,” says a voice over the speaker, coming from one of the U.N. military vessels. 

“And there’s this huge ship, twenty klicks across, it looks like.”

“Delta Team and Clown Car, ETA?” asks Johnson.

“ETA twenty minutes,” says Mulder.

“We’re going in,” says the captain.

Meanwhile, the Aerial Knights have launched from the huge Windermerean flagship.

“All right,” says Master Hermann Kross. “We protect Space Force One until the barrier shield can go up.”

He looks at his radar screen.

“Old Knight to White Knight, where are you going?” he asks.

“To take care of the Reaper,” replies Keith Aero Windermere.

“No! Our orders are to escort Space Force One! Your father is aboard.”

“If I take out the Reaper, he won’t be a threat to Space Force One!”

Keith continues his flight. He knows that the _Aether_ is here.

And wherever _Aether_ is, Reaper is as well.

“Where are you, Reaper?” he asks. “One of us must die today.”

He looks below, at this very planet where he first fought the Reaper. He had been sent to attack the defense flotilla and Walkure during the Var syndrome outbreak two months before. The two of them had that dance.

It is time to dance again.

“Captain,” says Jennifer Ramos, sitting at a bridge console aboard the _Aether_ , “long-range radar gives us one bandit closing in.”

“We see that too,” says a bridge operator from the _Leonard_.

“Tour Bus to Delta Team,” says Johnson. “Keep a defensive screen around Clown Car.”

“Delta Team, this is the _Leonard_ ,” says Captain Chae. “We have Rouge Squadron protecting the two carriers.”

“We copy,” says U.N. Spacy Lieutenant Commander Roy Yamada, who is Rouge Leader.

Squadron leader Messer Oilfield knows that White Knight is coming.

Coming for him.

He almost moves the stick and pushes the pedals to intercept the White Knight, finish their duel.

But he has to stay.

He will not lose Kaname.

The white Knight gets closer and closer. He can see his target, it looks like a speck.

He glances at a radar screen and another fighter is rapidly approaching. He smiles.

“White Knight to Blood Knight,” says Keith. “Glad you can join me. You keep the others occupied while I duel the Reaper.”

Suddenly, he feels a jolt. He briefly wonders it is an attack.

He can see battloid hands.

Bogue Con-Vaart transformed his Draken into battloid mode and grabbed Keith’s fighter.

“Blood Knight!” yells Keith. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you back,” replies Bogue. “You must stay with Space Force One!”

“No! Let me go!”

“I must do this. Power down!”

“Don’t you want to kill any Earth scum?”

“We will kill the Earth scum that tries to attack Space Force One. Power down, Keith.”

He takes a deep breath, and then powers down his Draken veritech fighter. “Okay, Bogue. Because you asked.”

The bridge crews of both the _Aether_ and the _Leonard_ see the two enemy fighters head back to the Windermerean flagship; they stay on alert.

“Tour Bus to Delta Team and Clown Car,” says Captain Johnson. “The Leonard is closer to you. Land there, and then we can fold back to Ragna.”

“Do you copy, Delta Team?” asks Chae.

“Yes, sir,” replies Mulder. “Change of orders acknowledged.”

The Star Sparrow and its veritech escort approach the _Ikazuchi_ -class carrier closer and closer.

“Clown Car to Leonard flight control,” says the Star Sparrow’s pilot. “Permission to land.”

“Flight deck is cleared,” says the air boss aboard the Leonard. “Do you have ALS?”

“ALS is online.”

“We’re guiding you in.”

The shuttle’s automatic landing sequence makes contact with the Leonard, and it guides the Star Sparrow into the _Leonard’s_ flight deck.

Messer Oilfield breathes a sigh of relief, knowing Kaname is safe.

The shuttle is soon lowered to the hangar deck. Crewmen in overalls go out to greet their guests.

Dr. Nichols steps out.

“What happened?” he asks, not remembering anything since hearing that weird song on Al Shahal.

Ooooooo

Keith Aero Windermere lands his fighter inside the flight deck of the huge Windermerean flagship, the ship that had been christened the _Sigur Valens_ ; its callsign is space Force One for the moment since His Majesty, King Gramis Nerich Windermere, is on board.

He looks out the opening of the flight deck, and sees a green glow.

Ooooooo

Elsewhere in this huge ship is a command and control center. It has all sorts of screens and electronic consoles. The leadership of the Winderemerean military can run an entire war from this room if they had to.

“Omnidirectional barrier system is up and running,” says a crewman sitting at one of the many consoles.

“Our escort vessels are folding away,” says an officer sitting at another console.

“Excellent,” says Chancellor Roid Brehm. “Tell the bridge to move this ship as close to the center of the Earth fleet as possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

King Gramis simply smiles.

Ooooooo

The Sigur Valens, clad in a green orb, approaches the Earth fleet. Many of the gunships and cruisers open fire at the barrier shield.

From inside the _Leonard’s_ bridge, Captain Chae can see this.

“Why are they firing on that vessel?” asks Chae. “They could trigger…”

“The crews of those ships are controlled by Var,” says Johnson. “We need to fold out as soon as everyone’s in.”

“Sir, the last of Delta Team has arrived,” says a lieutenant sitting at a console.

“Initiate hyperspace fold,” says the _Leonard’s_ captain.

Soon, the _Leonard_ glows and then disappears from the four-dimensional spacetime, followed by the _Aether_.

The Earth ships continue to fire on the omnidirectional barrier surrounding the _Sigur Valens_. The barrier glows from green to blue to white.

And then it overloads.

A wave of destructive energy radiates from the flagship in all directions, destroying the Earth ships. It loses energy even as it shatters gunships, cruisers, and carriers, turning them into robotechnology debris. It is only after about one hundred fifty miles that the wave does not instantly destroy any space vessel that it hits, though it still destroys shuttles and fighter jets.

It is estimated that millions of United Earth Forces officers and servicemen had been killed in this attack.

Ooooooo

“Are you all right?” asks Hayate as he sees Freyja standing inside the huge hangar deck of the _Leonard_.

“I still need to see a doctor,” replies Freyja.

“We’d better get you to sick bay,” says Dr. Singh. She looks around, smelling the lubricants and fluid residue, seeing the metal bulkheads and deck, and all sorts of shuttles and fighter planes. It had been a long time since she was on a U.N. Spacy robotech vessel.

Squadron leader Messer Oilfield descends from his Siegfried and removes his helmet. The veins on his face are clearly bulging.

Hayate’s eyes widen. “Get some corpsmen here now!” he yells. “Get him to sick bay!”

Kaname runs up to Messer.

“Hold on, Messer,” she says, holding his left hand. “Don’t lose yourself.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Messer gets news about his continued service with Delta Team

United Nations Army General T.R. Andrews walks into his office inside the Robotech Defense Forces Command Headquarters in Joint forces Air Field Glorie, on the planet Glorie. He had a very brief meeting with his command staff, as well as United Nations Space Marines Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka, who commands Military Assistance Command, Brisingr Globular Cluster, about the recent battle in orbit around the planet Al Shahal. A huge Windermerean ship and its escorts defolded. The giant ship activated its omnidirectional robotech barrier, and the crews of the U.N. vessels, under control by Var syndrome, kept firing the on the barrier until it overloaded, wiping out thousands of ships, both those normally stationed around Al Shahal and those sent to reinforce them.

The general sits behind his desk.

“We have a connection with Galaxy City,” he hears a communications technician say.

“Patch them through,” replies Andrews.

“Yes, sir.”

Several holograms of people appear, all sharply dressed. The general recognizes a hologram of a bespectacled woman with amber-complected skin and black hair cut in the shape of a bowl. She wears a navy-blue skirt, a white blouse, and a navy-blue coat.

She is Nozawa Noriko, Secretary General of the United Nations.

“We have been dealt the biggest defeat to date,” says the Secretary General, who is the principal executive officer of the United Earth Government. “Already, ten member states have contacted my office, informing us of their immediate withdrawal from the United Nations, accusing us of being unable to protect our members states from attack! And their accusations are correct. One by one, our member states in the Brisingr Cluster have fallen, and now Al Shahal has fallen.”

“Your Excellency, the Windies have been engaging in a form of warfare completely unprecedented in our history,” says General Andrews. “The enemy can effectively hack our own troops!”

“General Andrews, your duty is to defend the member states of the United Nations from outside attack,” says Nozawa. “It is clear that you are now completely unsuited to carry out this duty. By order of the Secretary General of the United Nations, you are removed from command of the Robotech Defense Forces Command, and immediately retired from active duty in the United Nations Army, effective immediately.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

So this was it.

Nearly thirty years of active duty in the United Nations Army is over.

Ooooooo

Chancellor Roid Brehm hears the doors to his private suite open, and Keith Aero Windermere steps in. He looks at the young man- long blond hair reaching the shoulders, pale skin. Keith presently dresses in simple overalls.

The suite is for the Chancellor, as the super space battlefortress, the _Sigur Valens_ , is now the royal flagship of the Kingdom of the Wind. The suite is basically a one-room apartment, with a combination living room-dining room-kitchen- or mess and galley as they are called in Space Force terminology- and two bedrooms and two full-service bathrooms. While not as luxurious as the Royal Palace in Darwent, the suite is very homely and very comfortable.

“Young master,” says the Chancellor. “Glad you can join us for dinner.”

Keith sits down on a wooden chair with a leather cushion. A soft cloth covers the dining table. The meal being served consists of cubed meats and cubed starchy roots, with gravy and various green vegetables- both stems and roots. Keith starts eating, savoring every bite.

“It’s not the same as the Royal Mess,” says Brehm, “but this would be expensive in any restaurant on Windermere or anywhere else. Perhaps you want some apple wine, young master.”

“I may be called to sortie at any time,” replies the Aerial Knight.

“Point taken. Still, you should enjoy the luxury. Our ancestors from Tirol, when they first set out to travel through hyperspace, they lived in cramped quarters.”

“Understandable, Roid. Interstellar ships back then were basically a giant fold drive and hydrogen fusion reactor, with crew cabins attached. The original ship Lord Zor used to travel to Optera was much bigger than the _Sigur Valens_.”

Like most educated people, Chancellor Brehm knows about Lord Zor, and how a visit to this planet called Optera introduced him to this plant now called the Flower of Life, and how a study of the Flower led him to develop a process to refine a substance called protoculture, which had many applications in power generation and bioengineering, which led to the science called robotechnology, enabling the rise of the Robotech Masters and their domination of the entire Milky Way Galaxy.

Of course, the pride and hubris of the Masters’ rulers led to their collapse just over half a century ago, but that is another subject.

“I understand you abandoned your post during the battle, and that young Con-Vaart had to retrieve you,” says the Chancellor.

“Yes,” replies Keith. “Master Kross had some stern words for me.”

“And those words were deserved, young Keith. The first duty of the Aerial Knight is to obey lawful superior orders. As your disobedience was during combat, I would have every reason to order your arrest and prosecution.”

“Yes, sir. I apologize.”

“I do wonder why you did what you did.”

Keith had known Roid Brehm nearly all his life. He knows that he can trust the man.

“I wanted to settle a score with this pilot from Delta Team,” he says.

“A score.”

“I met him over Al Shahal, the planet we’re orbiting. I also met him face-to-face in the ruins on Voldor.”

“A vendetta.”

“I wouldn’t call it that.”

“It doesn’t matter what you name it. Let me tell you about my mentor, the man from Earth.”

“Yes, I know about him. He is also my uncle- my aunt, Nera Flora Windermere, the younger sister of my father, being married to him in hopes of securing an alliance with the Earth people, the Terrans.”

Neither of the men had to say that the marriage did not secure a lasting peace.

“Yes, he was a general, and he escorted that Earth man Lang down to Windermere for first contact, forty years ago. He was even part of the oversight committee that restored that old Robotech Masters ship to the _Sigur Valens_. Let me tell you something. About seventy years ago, there was these wars on Earth, known as the Global Civil War- wars which were nearly as senseless as the mad rush to control dwindling supplies of food and protoculture in the Masters’ colonies after the secret of protoculture had been lost. Your uncle fought in these wars when he was about Heinz’s age.”

“He was that young?” asks Keith. “Fighting in a war?”

“He was orphaned,” says Roid, “and he decided to try being a fighter pilot, to avoid the horrors on the ground. He was skilled, scoring his first kill on his first sortie. But like many boys transitioning to men, he connected with the opposite sex. She too was a fighter pilot.”

“What happened?”

“One day, the girl he loved was blown out of the sky by an enemy pilot, who was from a faction of Earth men known as Americans. She was only fifteen years old! He heard who blew his girl out of the sky, and he began a vendetta against the man whom he called that sumbitch. But in this Global Civil War, allegiances and alliances kept changing, and he actually had to fight alongside the sumbitch.”

“Really?”

“The Global Civil War was senseless. Over a billion humans killed. After Lord Zor’s ship crashed on Earth, both he and the sumbitch became officers and pilots in the United Earth Forces.”

“Did he ever settle thing s with that..sumbitch?”

“That sumbitch was killed in combat during the First Robotech War,” says Roid. “But that did not end the vendetta. He found a new target, a young pilot who was a protégé of that sumbitch. That gransumbitch, he called him.”

“How did that turn out?”

“Your uncle was an ambitious man, a dissident among the exiles from Earth. He allied with the Disciples of Zor, and he wanted to create a new galactic order based on protoculture and robotechnology. But his vendetta against that decades-long dead sumbitch clouded his judgment, and he was defeated and killed just a year after you were born. He lost everything he worked so hard to achieve. His children- your cousins- had to grow up without a father, just as you grew up without your mother. And that is the lesson. You want to take down this pilot, and you may get that chance. Then again, you may not. Pursuing this vendetta may cost the lives of Hermann, or Bogue, or Qasim, or Theo, or Xao. It may cost you your father. It may cost you Heinz. Do not forget what is important, young Keith.”

“I see,” says Keith. “What happened to that sumbitch’s successor, that gransumbitch, he was called, right?”

Roid smiles. “He actually became Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces just before the end of the Robotech Wars,” he answers. “He retired from public life nearly fifteen years ago. What, surely you do not expect me to go out and murder an elderly man?”

“No, I certainly did not even imply you should do that.”

“Then you are learning something, young master. I have given up on vendettas. You know my history, and you know I would have every reason to seek vendettas, and plenty of people against whom to seek vendettas. But that would be pointless. Suffering breeds more suffering. Injustice leads to further injustice. Vengeance leads to further vengeance. Mercy emboldens wickedness. But maybe we can put an end to this, maybe we can find the end of the circle.”

Oooooo

“And that is the last of them,” says Dr. Naomi Singh.

Freyja Wion rises up from the loading platform of the magnetic resonance image machine. Since her return to the Xaos Brisingr Fleet headquarters on Planet Ragna, the medical staff have been doing tests from weighing her, taking blood pressure, taking blood samples, to X-rays and MRI’s.

“I’m hungry,” says Walkure’s newest singer.

“I wish I could have taken your blood pressure and all down on Al Shahal.”

“I’m going to the cafeteria and get me an apple or two.”

Dr. Singh smiles. That girl has so much energy, despite what had happened just half a day before, when they were nearly killed by that Windermerean veritech fighter team.

She quickly walks to her office. Logging on to her desktop computer, she examines some more lab results.

Ooooooo

Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield enters the conference room inside the office building. Not only does he see Wing Commander Arad Mulder and Der. Naomi Singh, he sees Captain Ernest Johnson.

“Sirs,” he says, “Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield, reporting for duty.”

“We have reviewed the medical data,” says the captain. “We have determined that you are no longer suitable to fly for Delta Team.”

Messer takes a deep breath. He understands. He can only fly for Var syndrome for so long.

“In that case, sir, I request a transfer,” he says.

“Messer?” asks Mulder.

“To a training unit. Either for Xaos’s own veritech teams, or as a contractor with the United Earth Forces. If I can’t fly in combat, I want to teach others so that they have a better chance of coming home alive.”

“I can put in the request, Oilfield,” says Johnson.

“Until then, I also request to stay with Delta Team until One Times Square answers my request.”

They nod. One Times Square is a building on Planet Earth, on an island called Manhattan, owned by Xaos and used as its headquarters.

The wing commander looks at the squadron leader. “I have to take care of stuff at the office,” he says.

Mulder leaves the conference room and walks a shorty distance down the hallway to Delta Team’s offices. He enters the main office, which has cubicles and file cabinets and other things.

He sees Flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang, Flying Officer Mirage Sterling, and Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman facing him.

“How long have you known, Wing Commander?” asks Hayate. “How long have you known that Squadron Leader Oilfield was infected with Var?”

“That is above your pay grade, Pilot Officer.”

“No. He was flying out there, susceptible to Var. He was endangering himself, us, you, and Freyja.”

“Flying Officer Sterling, if you can rein in Immelman here.”

“We need an explanation if we are maintain trust in you, sir,” replies Sterling.

“Very well,” says the wing commander. “We needed to recruit pilots for the veritech team that would back up Walkure. People skilled and loyal. That was when I heard of Air Force Second Lieutenant Messer Oilfield. He was an outstanding veritech pilot, and was promoted just two months after graduating from V-School. Four years ago, he was stationed at Tyler Air Base on Ragna, about one thousand klicks from Barretteburg.”

“What happened, sir?” asks Mustang.

“He and some squadmates went to a nearby county fair. That was when there was an outbreak of Var syndrome. It was new at the time, and the only known treatment back then was to deploy crowd control units. That same time and place, Kaname Buccaneer was singing. Her song reached Oilfield. As you know, further testing on her detected bio fold waves, and she was recruited by the Health Service to form Walkure. Anyway, Oilfield had killed three of his friends while under Var. The Air Force pulled him off active duty and sent him to a psychiatric hospital on Earth, near this little town called Ely, in a region called Nevada, for inpatient treatment. He was at the psychiatric hospital near Ely for a year.

“When we found out we needed a veritech fighter team to back up Walkure, I was recruited from the Space Marines. Having access to all files, Miss Buccaneer, Dr. Singh, and I traveled to Earth to visit Lieutenant Oilfield. We managed to get him released from the hospital and medically discharged from the Air Force. And he had not had problems with Var. Continual exposure to Walkure’s music increased his resistance. But when that Windy song was amplified by the Robotech Masters ruins, it overcame his resistance.”

“And he’s especially vulnerable,” says Hayate.

“Oilfield has been relieved of combat flight duty,” says Mulder. “For now, he is still our XO, and he will still be responsible for drills. He has sent in a request for a transfer. Given his performance record, I expect One Times Square to approve this request.”

“So he’s leaving,” says Flying Officer Sterling.

“He was the best,” says Flight Lieutenant Mustang.

“Then I must make this request, sir,” says Hayate.

“You want to join Oilfield?” asks Mulder. “I will certainly forward the request to One Times Square, but I will warn you that the chances of approval are nil.”

“No, sir,” replies the young pilot officer. “When One Times Square approves the squadron leader’s transfer, we all celebrate at the restaurant.”

“My dad will be happy,” says Mustang.

“I would like that.”

The four of them look and see Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield standing at the entrance to the office.

“Squadron Leader,” says the wing commander.

“I would like to celebrate with those for whom I would give all,” says the squadron leader, “And for those who would give all for me. That will be for later. There will be a battle ahead, and we need some sim time to sharpen our skills.”

“Yes, sir,” replies Hayate.

Ooooooo

Two hours later, after brutal sim training under the supervision of Squadron Leader Oilfield, Hayate and the others in Delta Team enter the main briefing room, which has dozens of long desks arranged on an incline, like an auditorium. So many people are here.

Captain Ernest Johnson walks to the podium, dressed in his hat and long coat. He introduces himself.

“Tomorrow we embark on an important mission to strike back against Al Shahal,” he says. “Many of you have noticed much work being done on the office building. Now, I am going to tell you something about this building that many of you are unaware of.

“The office building is the headquarters of the Brisingr Fleet. It has its own power supply and water treatment system independent of municipal utilities. The reason for that is simple.

“The office building is a spaceship.”

Hayate looks surprised. Freyja, sitting not far from him, also looks surprised.

Neither Kaname Buccaneer nor Arad Mulder nor Naomi Singh show any surprise.

The employees murmur.

“This had been an experimental ship designed and built by the Robotech Research Center for use by the United Nations Spacy, but it was deemed too impractical for mass production, so it was donated to Xaos, which we used as an office building for the Brisingr Cluster Fleet headquarters. We’ve been focusing on getting this thing spaceborne again. And before you ask, I was an officer in the test crew back then.

“In six hours, we will depart for a counterstrike against Al Shahal. We have noticed that there are at least twenty-four hours between broadcasts of that Var song. _Aether_ will dock with this ship, this ship we call _Elysion_. _Elysion_ was designed to be able to dock with two _Hunter_ -class or _Ikazuchi_ -class carriers, like the SDFs, and the _Aether_ was built with the chassis of the _Hunter_ -class, so it will dock. Delta Team will fly escort.

“Our ship has advanced hyperspatial comm systems. Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka will use the Elysion as her flagship; she is in command of all U.N. combat forces responsible for defending the Cluster.”

Ooooooo

Kaname Buccaneer watches as Mikumo Guynemer and Freyja Wion sing. The two singers are inside these glass booths which can monitor bio fold wave activity and heart rate and body temperature. Dr. Naomi Singh and Reina Prowler also watch, glancing at the two women and the holographic projections.

“That’s it,” says Singh. “It looks like there’s resonance, but not to the extent recorded back on al Shahal.”

“We can’t just invite the Windies to attack to collect the data,” says Mikumo.

“True that,” says Reina.

“Ladies, I will take a closer look at the data in my office,” says the Health Corps commander.

Kaname leaves the laboratory. She walks to the Delta Team’s offices, which is not too far a walk from Dr. Singh’s lab.

She enters Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield’s office, seeing the squadron leader sitting behind his desk.

“Any thoughts?” she asks.

“Just worrying about the mission in a few hours,” replies Messer. “I won’t be out there with them.”

“You’re too vulnerable now.”

“I know.” Messer looks down. “I just fear the others won’t be able to survive without me backing them up.”

“And you might kill them in a rage if the Var syndrome acts up again.”

“I know.”

“You’re leaving. I heard.”

“That depends on what One Times Square says.”

“And they’ll say yes,” says Kaname. “What will you do afterward?”

“Train the new recruits the way I trained Mustang, Sterling, and Immelman. And they have performed well. I had my doubts about Mustang, let alone Sterling and Immelman.”

“That’s not just it. I can tell.”

“It’s Shammy,” says Messer.

“Yes, you told me about her. Are you going to seek custody again?”

“No, not that.” Messer stands up. “It didn’t work, and my mother’s lawyers will still use my involuntary hospitalization against me. I need to take more direct action.”

“Direct action?” asks Kaname.

“I will have to take Shammy with me.”

“Just take her? Without legal custody?”

“I have to rescue her from that toxic environment,” says Messer. “From her. No matter what. Even if we have to live among the Karbarrans or the Invid.”

“But that would be illegal. You would be a fugitive.”

“I never had any living role models growing up,” says Messer. “All I had were books like the Bible, the U.N. Medal of Honor Winners. I read stories of people who risked all, lost all, to do what was right. I decided to follow in their footsteps.

“I shouldn’t have abandoned Shammy!” He pounds his desk, the pain of the past arising again. “She was my sister! I should have taken her with me! Even life on the streets of Alfheim would have been better.”

“I wish I knew what to say.”

“I still have to prepare for our mission,” says Messer. “I suggest you get some rest, Kaname. You will need to be fully energized when you sing in support of our counterstrike- and you will need to sing, you and the others.”

“I shall get some rest.”

The Walkure manager walks outside the office. She can still feel the pain Messer is feeling.

Even in the struggles she had trying to make it on her own singing in between shifts of serving tables and washing dishes, she never experienced what Messer did.

Oooooooooo

It is night, and the ground crews of the Xaos Main Airfield on Planet Ragna have been working round to clock to get the _Elysion_ ready.

Just right outside the hangars where Delta Team’s Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighters are stashed, Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield meets with the others. Like the others, he wears heavy armor over his flight suit.

“I won’t be up there,” says the squadron leader. “But I’ll be in the _Aether_ ; I’ll have your back.”

“Take care,” says Wing Commander Arad Mulder.

Ooooo

Captain Ernest Johnson walks inside the command and control center inside the _Elysion_. It is a large room, with all sorts of consoles with keyboards and trackballs and monitor screens. There is a huge, sixty-inch screen in the back, and a table in the middle contains holographic projectors.

“And this will be the command center for you and your staff,” says Johnson.

“Thank you,” replies United Nations Space Marines Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka. Johnson looks at his guest, a woman in her mid-forties, about five seven, with blond hair tied in a bun. She wears light armor over her MARPAT camouflage.

“I’ll handle things on the bridge,” says the captain.

“We have your back, ma’am,” says Colonel Johnny Wolff. “Semper Fi.”

“Semper fi, Colonel,” replies the general before Johnson and Wolff leave the room.

Oooooooo

“Islander to Tower, ready for takeoff,” says Wing Commander Mulder, sitting in the cockpit of his VF-31 Siegfried.

“Tower to Islander, you are clear for takeoff on Runway 2 Lima,” says the air traffic controller.

He pushes the throttle forward. The landing gears roll against the concrete. The air flows against the triangular wings. The difference in air pressure between the top and bottom lifts the wings, and thus lifts the plane into the night sky.

Soon, the other three veritechs join him. He can see the lights of Barretteburg; the city seems small from this high.

“Islander to Delta Team, maintain holding pattern,” says the wing commander.

He glances at the _Elysion_ , still on the ground.

Ooooooo

Captain Johnson sits on his chair inside the _Elysion_ bridge and fastens the seat belt. He looks at all of the holographic and physical displays. The bridge has more consoles than the _Aether’s_ bridge does. Already, the bridge crew looks at the screens and instruments, making sure there is nothing that even hints that the _Elysion_ might break apart upon takeoff, let alone hyperspace fold.

He barely had any free time since Windermere declared war. Between commanding the Aether on deployment and overseeing the _Elysion_ project- which he had to do, though he had every bit of confidence in the engineering crews, who included people that worked on the team that built the ship in the first place- its importance meant he had to pay personal attention to it.

“ _Aether_ and Delta Team are in the air,” says Nina O’Toole, one of the bridge crewmen.

“We are clear,” says Beth Morton.

“Lifoff,” says Captain Ernest Johnson.

And so the _Elysion_ takes off. It is a huge rectangular structure over one thousand meters long. The thrusters and the gravity pods push against the planet, which causes the interstellar space vessel to rise.

Jenifer Ramos continues to read out the altitude.

The air gets thinner and thinner.

Half an hour later, the _Elysion_ reaches the vacuum in space.

“We are parked in orbit, ten thousand klicks above the surface,” says O’Toole.

“Begin docking procedure,” says the captain.

The ship accelerates, changing its speed relative to the _Aether_.

“Relative velocity five meters per second,” says Morton.

“ _Aether_ is ready,” says Squadron Leader Oilfield, speaking from the _Aether’s_ bridge.

The two ships approach closer and closer.

“Velocity matched,” says Ramos.

Soon the two ships are moving very slowly relative to each other. The automated systems on both ships initiate the docking connections. The main docking bolts connect- each bolt three meters wide, made of the toughest alloys, to keep the ships connected.

“Docking connectors secure,” says O’ Toole. “Passageways pressurized.”

“Good job,” says Johnson.

“Thank you, sir,” replies Oilfield.

The _Aether_ is docked onto the starboard side of the _Elysion_ , near the bow.

“Now it is our turn,” says Captain Ken Chae, speaking from the bridge of the _U.E.S. Anatole Leonard_.

Both of the bridge crews watch the instruments and gauges and monitors as the Elysion approaches the Leonard. The maneuvering thrusters fire at the right moments so that the two ships are just moving at a crawl relative to each other.

And then the docking bolts connect, along with the data conduit cable and air pressure sleeves.

“We have the connection with the _Leonard_ ,” says Morton.

“Very well then<’ says Johnson. “Transform to Storm Attack Mode.”

“Initiating transformation,” says O’Toole.

The rear of the _Elysion_ splits apart.

The _Aether_ and the _Leonard_ seem to fold out.

The Delta Team pilots look out in wonder.

“Transformation complete,” says Ramos.

“Wow,” says Hayate. “Looks like a giant robot.”

And indeed it is. The engine blocks are the “robot’s” legs, while the _Aether_ and _Leonard_ are the right and left arms, respectively.

The counterstrike force is gathered, with many carriers and gunships and cruisers from the United Nations Spacy and Xaos Corporation.

General Obrycka looks at the screens inside the command center.

“Connect me to the E.V.E.,” she says.

“Making the connection,” says an Army officer.

A hologram of a woman with teal hair appears.

She is the avatar of the Enhanced Video Emulation System, a computer system used by the United Earth Government.

“Fold our fleet to Al Shahal,” says Obrycka.

“Affirmative,” replies the E.V.E. “Calculating fold. External transit time seven seconds. Fold to commence in ten seconds.”

Ten seconds later, all the ships glow, and fold into hyperspace.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The U.N. launches a counterstrike at the Windermerean fleet around Al Shahal. But they have a trick up their sleeve....

Spacetime around the planet Al Shahal is disturbed. Hundreds of space vessels defold, radiating gravitational waves. These ships are part of a strike force to retake the orbital space around Al Shahal; it is led by Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka.

The general is informed that the strike force had defolded into the standard four-dimensional spacetime. She briefly recalls her over two decades of active duty in the Space Marines, starting with flying above Earth during the Battle of Reflex Point. Things have been peaceful from the end of the Robotech Wars until just recently.

“We are detecting a huge ship, over twenty klicks wide,” says an Ocean Patrol officer assigned to the joint service staff assisting Obrycka in her command functions.

“Tell all ships to prepare to open fire,” she says.

The gunnery crews in all the ships focus.

The fighter pilots inside their aerospace fighters focus.

Captain Ernest Johnson steels himself, sitting inside the _Elysion’s_ bridge.

He awaits the order.

“All ships, attack,” orders General Obrycka.

The ships open fire at the _Sigur Valens_ and its escorts.

It flashes, and then disappears.

“It disappeared?” asks a Spacy officer inside the _Elysion’s_ command center.

“It couldn’t have been destroyed that easily,” says a Space Marine officer.

“Detecting gravitational waves,” says an Air Force officer. “Looks like a hyperspace fold, ma’am.”

“Send a message to Defense Command,” says the general. “We’ll stay in our current trajectory and keep watch until we get further orders.”

Inside the _Aether_ , Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman is waiting to launch, wondering what is going on.

“The enemy flagship just folded away,” says Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield. “Just standby.”

“Well, if it means no one has to die,” replies the teen.

“I’m worried ,” says Flying officer Mirage Sterling. “They must be up to something, to just fold away after we just got here.”

Inside the observation deck, Walkure and Dr. Naomi Singh had just seen the enemy fleet fold into hyperspace.

“Our concert is only temporarily delayed,” says Mikumo Guynemer. “The enemy will start their concert before we do.”

“We have communications from Al Shahal,” says an Army officer. “They’ve been released from whatever hold the Windies had on them.”

The tension, both in the command center and in the rest of the strike force, continues for a few minutes.

Then it is interrupted.

“General, we have a report that Galaxy city is under attack,” says an Ocean Patrol officer.

“Details?” asks Obrycka.

“They detected a ship, ma’am, twenty clicks across.”

“That’s them. We need to get over there right away.”

“I have calculated a hyperspace fold that will take six minutes external transit time,” says the E.V.E.. “It will deplete most of your protoculture supply.”

“Let’s do it.”

“Everyone,” says Captain Johnson, “prepare for hyperspace fold.”

“Delta Team, we are folding to Galaxy City in the Sol system,” says Squadron leader Oilfield. “The enemy is there.”

“Galaxy City!” yells Hayate. “My dad might be there!”

The ships in the strike force glow, and then fold into hyperspace.

Oooooooo

The _Sigur Valens_ is now in the Sol System. Just about eight hundred klicks away from the massive space habitat called Galaxy City, located at the L4 point of the Earth-Sol system. A green sphere appears around the Windermerean flagship.

“Bridge reports the omnidirectional barrier is up,” says an officer in the _Sigur Valens_ fleet control center.

“Send a message to the chamber,” says Chancellor Roid Brehm as he adjusts his eyeglasses.

Elsewhere in the huge ship, there is a chamber. It looks similar to the chamber under the surface of Windermere, with lots stone columns, stone disk-like platform, and stone ring standing up.

“Sing the Song of the Wind, my son,” says King Gramis Nerich Windermere.

Crown Prince Heinz Nerich Windermere stands on the platform.

He takes a deep breath.

He sings.

Ooooooooo

Outside in space, Keith Aero Windermere can hear his little brother’s song.

“The wind,” he says.

Bogue Con-Vaart destroys another U.N. Air Force aerospace drone.

“Where are they?” he asks angrily. “I didn’t launch just to break some toys!”

Ooooo

Inside Galaxy City, Taniyama Mika can hear the Song of the Wind. She wonders where the song is coming from even as she holds the handle of her baby carriage.

She hears the distant crunch of metal.

She and her baby are clearly in danger.

Someone tackles her.

She sees it is a woman with light brown hair. The veins are bulging, and there is a mad look in her eyes.

Mika can see the carriage rolling across the street.

A car suddenly strikes the carriage at high speed.

The baby flies in a parabolic arc.

She lands on the pavement at high speed.

The force of the collision causes scalp and skull to split open, and for the pinkish gray brain matter to spill out.

And then a truck with huge tires runs over her at above eighty miles per hour. Its speed keeps increasing, knocking away less massive vehicles.

And then it crashes into a fire truck, and there is an explosion. Flames shoot out.

Ooooooo

“What is that song?” asks Admiral Yusuf Obegwo, the Commandant of the Ocean Patrol.

He and the other Joint Chiefs have been meeting here to discuss recent discoveries regarding the War with Windermere- the study of the Robotech Masters’ ruins and the bacteria found inside Galactic Apples, bacteria that appeared to have been mutated by corrupt protoculture. They had intended to make official findings for Supreme Command.

That is when that song interrupted him.

He sees the Commandant of the United Nations space Marines stand up. The Space Marine general has veins bulging from his face.

“Var syndrome!” yells Admiral Obegwo.

Two of the other chiefs quickly restrain the man.

The doors open.

Obegwo and the others see Admiral Chen Tzu, the Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces.

Chen’s face has bulging veins.

Before they can react, the admiral takes a machine pistol and starts shooting. Obegwo takes cover.

He sees the Chief of Spacy Operations rush at the Supreme Commander.

They struggle over the sidearm.

And there is another loud explosive noise.

Brain matter is splattered on the white plaster wall.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Elysion arrives in the sol system. Can they save Galaxy City from the Var outbreak.

Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka’s strike force defolds in the Sol system, about one thousand klicks from Galaxy City.

“Bridge reports _Elysion’s_ systems running,” says an Air Force officer.

“The Windie flagship has its barrier up,” says a Space marine officer. “It’s too close to Galaxy City.”

“We’ll have to take out the small fry,” replies the general. “Tell Walkure to start singing.”

Walkure gets the message.

“Okay, ladies,” says Kaname Buccaneer. “Let’s start.”

They all focus, concentrating their energies into the song they will sing.

_Kiss Kiss Feel Love_

_Kiss, Kiss, Feel Love_

_You can’t reach the future if you never take off_

_Take me along to the end of space as you fly away_

Dr. Naomi Singh can see the holographic display showing the bio fold waves.

The four active pilots of Delta Team launch from the _Aether_. Aerospace drones and fighters launch from the _Hunter_ -class and _Ikazuchi_ -class carriers.

“Okay, Rouge squadron,” says Lieutenant Commander Roy Yamada, “Don’t hit the big ship with the shield.”

“Roger that,” replies Second Lieutenant Ann Campbell.

“Walkure’s song will protect you,” says General Obrycka. “Don’t stray too far.”

Captain Ernest Johnson sits in the bridge.

He does not need anyone to tell him that the Windermereans triggered a Var outbreak inside Galaxy City itself.

He looks at the image of the _Sigur Valens_. It is a large ship, with this jagged shape. It is protected by an omnidirectional barrier.

And yet something seems off.

“My dad’s in there,” says Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman, sitting inside his VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighter.

“Focus on protecting the _Elysion_ , Slacker,” says Flying Officer Mirage Sterling. “That’s the best chance of your dad surviving.”

“Islander to Delta Team,” says Wing Commander Arad Mulder. “Over seventy bandits on our way.”

Their hearts all race. None of them have been in a dogfight this big before.

Dozens of klicks away, Master Hermann Kross lines up one of the enemy bandits in the targeting sights of his SV-262 Draken veritech fighter.

“Pick a target, Aerial Knights,” he says. “Fire!”

The Aerial Knights’ Drakens, and the other Windermerean aerospace fighters, fire long-range missiles. The U.N. fighters try to avoid, but some are unlucky and get blown up.

The Drakens close in on visual range.

“Aerial Knights, engage!” yells Kross.

And so they and the other Windermereans do. Bogue lines up one of the U.N. aerospace fighter. With some laser fire, the enemy is blown up.

The Blood Knight then lines up another fighter and squeezes the trigger, destroying the enemy in a fireball, scattering robotechnology debris everywhere.

“That is more like it,” he says.

“Where is he!” yells Keith, destroying another U.N. fighter. “Where’s the Reaper!”

Hayate lines up a Windermerean fighter and opens fire.

The enemy fighter explodes in a fireball.

“Why does it have to be this way?” asks the pilot, not wanting to have to kill, but knowing that he must to protect his father.

He curses the circumstances that require him to kill.

He notices a signal on his radar, that some bogey is behind him.

The signal disappears.

“Watch your six, Slacker,” says Sterling.

“Thanks, Buckeye.”

“That’s them,” says Bogue. “Delta Team.”

“Other squadrons, cover us,” says Kross.

Ooooooo

“Var outbreak confirmed inside Galaxy City,” says a Space Force officer inside the command center of the _Sigur Valens_.

“The sound gun is working perfectly,” says Chancellor Roid Brehm, smiling as he adjusts his eyeglasses. The sound gun is a piece of robotechnology developed by the kingdom’s own robotech researchers to amplify Prince Heinz’s fold waves when singing the Song of the Wind. Together with the power of the Robotech Masters ruins, they are able to focus the sound and send it to the capital of the United Nations.

Brehm can only imagine the chaos inside Galaxy City.

_Sometimes we must inflict suffering to save a greater number of people from further suffering._

Ooooo

Hayate has no doubt.

The Aerial Knights are engaging Delta Team.

And he can not shake him.

Lasers and missiles fly right by him.

“This is Slacker, I need backup,” says Hayate.

“I have my hands full,” says Flying officer Sterling, trying to dodge the Draken behind her.

She tries to fly close to one of the gunships, hoping that they can cover for her.

No such luck, as the gunship takes very heavy fire from the Windermerean fleet and explodes in a huge fireball.

And the Aerial Knight is still on her six.

Walkure continues to sing, radiating their bio fold waves.

The Aerial Knights have the upper hand over Delta Team.

“We are having trouble here,” says Wing Commander Mulder.

“We can’t break off, Delta team,” replies Commander Yamada. “Another squad’s keeping us busy.”

Xao Jussila lines up one of the Delta Team veritechs.

“He’s right behind me!” yells flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang. “This is Chef, I need help!”

His index finger is one the trigger.

Then he feels as if something hit him really hard. He looks at his instruments and sees that his fighter had been damaged.

“This is Silver Knight,” he says. “I’ve been hit real bad.”

“Old Knight to Silver Knight, bug out,” says Master Kross. “Apple Knight, cover him.”

“This is Driller!” yells Squadron leader Messer Oilfield. “Engaging the enemy.”

“Thanks.”

“Driller, what are you doing?” asks Mulder. He can see the XO’s face, with the bulging veins.

Dr. Naomi Singh can overhear the conversation. She calibrates her scanner, looking at the holographic display.

“You’re suffering from Var!” she yells. “Get back here!”

Oilfield’s image appears on a holographic display on the window.

“Kaname, play your song,” asks Squadron leader Oilfield. “Sing before I turn Var for good.”

Kaname Buccaneer stands up. She wears a sleeveless light green blouse with a white collar. A short necktie is tied around her collar. Over her blouse she wears a sleeveless black vest, and she wears a skirt reaching to her knees. A yellow flower is attached to her red hair.

She knows that the rest of Delta Team is on trouble.

Her entire soul focuses.

“I understand, Messer,” she says.

“Thank you, Kaname,” he replies.

_This may be the last time I ever see your smile._

_Even the faces you make to other people are precious moments._

_In a world where the weight of life is light as a feather’s,_

_You are the reason I live for, and that’s why I found you._

Mikumo, Reina, Makina, and Freyja provide backup.

They know this is AXIA, Kaname’s song.

She must be the center.

Oilfield can feel the Var.

He opens fire, destroying several of the Windermerean aerospace drones.

“The wind is with him,” says Kross.

“He’s controlling the Var?” asks Singh, still trying to believe the readings on her bio fold wave scanner.

“There he is,” says Keith. “This is White Knight, I’m going in.”

“Blood Knight to White Knight, I’ll keep the others off your back,” says Bogue. “May the wind blow in your favor.”

Keith flies towards Oilfield, firing missiles and lasers. None of them hit. They soon reach each other.

They start dancing.

Kaname continues singing.

_This pang of sadness is AXIA on my heart_

None of the others pilots even dare to interfere.

They fly in a spiral, trying to shoot down each other, with laser beams and missiles being fired.

Messer feels energized by Var.

Keith can feel the wind.

He had to use every erg of energy in his body to avoid being killed.

His heart races.

“He can match the White Knight?” asks Bogue, glancing as the two robotech veritechs dance in space.

“We are outclassed,” says Hermann Kross.

Messer fires missiles.

Keith dodges, firing some missiles back at him.

The Xaos squadron leader dodges and weaves.

His heart races.

Blood vessels expand.

He is not under Var.

He is using Var.

Messer gets Keith in his sights.

He squeezes the trigger.

Keith releases the last of the drones carried by his Draken.

The drone explodes in a fireball.

Keith has his hand on the stick.

The White Knight pulls the trigger.

A beam of high-energy particles shoot out.

They make contact with the cockpit of the Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighter.

There is a two-inch hole in the cockpit canopy.

Then the canopy is splattered with blood.

It happens just less than one hundred feet away from the observation deck of the _Elysion_.

Kaname collapses, her knees on the ground.

She is shattered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Messer Oilfield had just been killed in battle. How will Walkure and Delta team deal with it.

Kaname Buccaneer can not believe it.

Mikumo Guynemer can not believe it.

Reina Prowler can not believe it.

Makina Nakajima can not believe it.

Freyja Wion can not believe it.

Hayate Immelman can not believe it.

Mirage Sterling can not believe it.

Chuck Mustang can not believe it.

Arad Mulder can not believe it.

Naomi Singh can not believe it.

Ernest Johnson can not believe it.

Messer Oilfield is dead.

Messer Oilfield had been directly shot by a particle beam going through his cockpit canopy.

But they all have to see this battle through.

Ooooooooo

Crown Prince Heinz Nerich Windermere breathes heavily.

“You must rest, son,” says his father, King Gramis Nerich Windermere. The king taps a headset.

“Roid, tell the fleet to withdraw to fallback position and prepare to fold,” he says. “We are done here.”

Inside the fleet command center of the Sigur Valens, Chancellor Roid Brehm hears the message.

“Marshal,” he says to a blue-uniformed man, “tell the fleet to retreat to our fallback position and prepare for hyperspace fold.”

“Yes, sir,” replies the man, who is the Marshal of the Windermere Royal Space Force. He gives orders to the crewmen and officers sitting at the consoles, who relay commands to the Space force’s vessels.

The _Sigur Valens_ drops its omnidirectional barrier, and smaller pinpoint barriers are raised.

“Knights, we have the order to withdraw,” says Master Hermann Kross. “Return to Space Force One.”

The six SV-262 Draken veritech fighters return to the Windermerean flagship, even as the other Windermerean aerospace fighters return to their respective carrier vessels.

One by one, the Aerial Knights return to the flight deck of the _Sigur Valens_. Hermann Kross is the last, setting foot on the metal deck.

He steps off from his Draken and removes his helmet. He can see lasers firing at the Earth fleet.

Oooooo

“It looks like the enemy fleet is withdrawing from us and Galaxy City,” says a Space Marine officer inside the command and control center of the Xaos Corporation ship _Elysion_.

“Tell the ships to continue firing, but not to pursue,” says Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka.

“Yes, ma’am.”

And so the order is relayed all of the United Earth Forces ships and the Xaos ships.

“Tour Bus to Delta Team,” says Captain Ernest Johnson. “The enemy is withdrawing. Maintain a protective screen around the tour Bus.”

“Copy, Tour Bus,” replies Wing Commander Arad Mulder. He looks at his radar screen.

“Hey,” he says. “Where’s Slacker?”

The pilot in question is flying his Siegfried towards the Windermerean Space Force fleet.

They killed the XO.

They killed the squadron leader.

They killed Driller.

They killed Messer Oilfield.

He was a leader.

He was family.

And now it is time to give them a gift.

“Slacker!” yells Mulder. “Where are you? Get back here. That’s an order!”

“I need to give the Windies a present first,” replies Hayate.

He can see the huge ship.

He can see the beams and missiles being fired at them, and fired from them.

The fleet’s vessels are getting closer together to each other.

Hayate sees the vessels shimmer.

A space fold!

They are trying to get away!

It is now or never!

Hayate touches buttons on the main screen of his cockpit.

“For Messer!” he yells with every cubic millimeter of air in his lungs, as he pulls the trigger on his control stick.

All of the remaining missiles from his fighter fly out towards the Windermerean flagship, leaving trails of smoke.

There is a spherical glow.

The entire Windermerean fleet folds into hyperspace.

Hayate switches into guardian mode and accelerates backwards as fast as he can.

He is still rocked by the spacetime shockwave resulting from the massive hyperspace fold.

“Islander to Slacker, are you all right?” asks the Delta Team leader.

“Slacker to Delta Team, I’m in one piece,” answers Hayate.

“I understand if you had radio issues; the Windy Knights must have done some damage to our planes. Head back and resume protection of the _Elysion_.”

“Yes, sir.”

Oooooooo

The fleet command center of the _Sigur Valens_ is suddenly enveloped in darkness. Then, it is bathed in dull red, as the emergency lights activate. Chancellor Brehm’s white coat now appears red.

“What the hell was that?” asks the chancellor.

“We’ll find out, sir,” replies a Space Force officer.

After a few seconds, alarming reports arrive from the flagship’s bridge.

Oooooo

The aftermath of the attack on Galaxy City is terrible.

There are still fires burning in the main chamber of the United Nations capital, filling the main chamber with the faint smell of smoke.

Many troops were sent to Galaxy City. Cyclone-armored mechanized infantry and Bioroids patrols the streets.

Broadcast reporters arte on the streets, reporting for all the major broadcast networks and web sites.

Secretary General Nozawa Noriko had cut short an official state visit to Planet Glorie to survey the damage. She had met with municipal officials, including the police and fire chiefs.

There is one more place she needs to visit.

She, Galactic Security Advisor Marie Crystal, and some blue-uniformed guards arrive at an Air Force Hospital, the principal hospital serving United Earth Forces servicemen in Galaxy City. Already, the hospital is busy, with medical officers, nurse officers, and medics walking about, sometimes pushing people in wheelchairs and gurneys. The Secretary General and her escort push through. A few medical officers stand at attention to their commander-in-chief, but most are too busy treating the wounded.

“This should be the place,” says Crystal, looking at the room number.

They enter. The y can see a typical hospital room, with a bed, a television mounted on the wall, and a small table along the front wall near the bed. A curtain, currently withdrawn, allows for privacy.

Lying down on the bed is a man in his late forties, with black hair and pale skin. He wears a hospital gown, and his right arm is in a sling.

“How are you feeling, Admiral?” asks Nozawa.

“My shoulder hurts, ma’am,” he replies.

“Can you stand up?”

He places his bare feet on the cold floor, and then stands up. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Can you walk around?”

The admiral walks around the hospital room a bit.

“Good,” says the Secretary General. “Admiral Chen Tzu has been confirmed dead. You are the senior ranking survivor of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. By operation of the United Earth Forces Code, you are now Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces.”

The man in the gown could hardly believe it. His left hand slightly trembles from the stress.

His heart races.

He is now Supreme Commander?

“Yes, ma’am,” he says.

“My office will inform the surviving Joint Chiefs and the combatant commanders of the change in leadership,” says Nozawa. “Keep me updated.”

She and Marie Crystal walk away.

Scott Bernard just stands inside the hospital room, wondering what to do next.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walkure and Delta Team deal with the aftermath of Messer's death.

The transport vessel docks with the _Elysion_ , now in its “cruiser” mode, with its rectanguloid shape- the vessels _Aether_ and _Leonard_ still docked.

Lady M, the CEO of the Xaos Corporation, walks through the docking sleeves and into the decks of the ship. She had flown here all the way from the Xaos corporation headquarters in Manhattan, leaving Earth via John F. Kennedy Spaceport in Queens.

“Welcome aboard the _Elysion_ ,” says Captain Ernest Johnson.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Captain,” replies the CEO. “I wish I was visiting under other circumstances.”

Johnson looks at his CEO. She appears to be an ageless woman with blue-tinted green hair. “Shall we go, ma’am?”

Elsewhere in the ship, Freyja Wion looks at herself in the mirror, seeing the light red hair on her head. She wears a black cloak and a black bowtie over her white blouse and long white skirt. This was the sort of color worn by many Earth cultures during funerals.

The teen had been to several funerals, including her father’s, but this funeral seemed so sad.

Messer Oilfield had always been there for them.

“You okay?” asks Mikumo Guynemer.

Freyja looks at Walkure’s lead singer. Her purple hair is now tied in a bun, and she wears a simple black dress.

The two of them join the other band members ride Side-A-Vators®™ and elevators to the docking sleeve connecting _Elysion_ with _Aether_. They then take another Side-A-Vator and walk down the corridors to the hangar deck, with all of its planes and spacecraft.

She sees Hayate Immelman, wearing a black suit. The others in Delta Team also wear suits. She notes some people wearing white tunics and white trousers and white caps; there are medals pinned to the tunics. Colonel Johnny Wolff wears the Space Marines dress blues, with the white trousers, blue tunic, medals pinned to the chest, and peaked cap on his head.

Captain Johnson faces them, wearing a similar coat like he usually wears, except that the coat is black.

“Allow me to introduce Captain Ernest Johnson,” says Lady M.

“Xaos Ragna Division,” says the captain, “salute Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield.”

All of the Xaos employees salute.

The entire hangar deck is filled with sadness.

Kaname Buccaneer is clearly the hardest hit among everyone in the room.

“I’m sorry,” Freyja says softly to the Walkure manager.

Kaname walks away.

Surgeon General Benjamin Greenfeld looks at Dr. Naomi Singh. Both of them wear white tunics similar to that of Spacy dress whites, with him wearing white trousers and her wearing a white skirt reaching just past the knees. While Singh has three one-inch stripes on each shoulder, Dr. Greenfeld has shoulderboards, each with three stars.

“I still have some business in Galaxy City itself regarding the relief efforts,” says the Surgeon General. “Do you have the samples?”

“All preserved and prepared, sir,” replies Dr. Singh. “I have some for my own testing, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. I can’t…can’t believe it.”

“His teammates loved him,” says Greenfeld. “The researchers from Tirol should be here. I wish I had time to go to Earth to get some bagels from Moishe’s.”

“I’ll give them the samples myself.”

Deep in her mind, Singh knows that studying the tissue samples recovered from Messer Oilfield- a man who managed to control Var syndrome- could help doctors and scientists learn more about Var, possibly finding a cure. But on the surface is grief for a man she had the privilege of calling friend.

Ooooooo

Lieutenant Commander Roy Yamada walks along the corridors of the U.E.S. _Anatole Leonard_ , still wearing his dress whites. He had visited the _Aether_ to pay respects on behalf of his squadron. He only met Squadron Leader Oilfield in person once, during that Jellyfish festival on Planet Ragna just a few days ago.

He makes it back to the squadron offices where he sees some of his fellow pilots, all clad in service khakis.

“How was it, Boss?” asks First Lieutenant Michael DiNozzo, the XO of Rouge Squadron.

“It was an honor,” replies the commander. He glances at two other pilots- Ann Campbell and Dwayne LaSalle. “There’s still much to do.”

The two of them suddenly stiffen.

Yamada turns around and likewise stands at attention. He sees a woman in her late thirties, wearing service khakis. She is about five seven, with black skin and tightly-curled black hair. Silver oak leaf pins on her collar tell everyone that she is a commander in the United Nations Spacy.

“Commander LeFleur,” he says.

“Commander Yamada, welcome back. How was the service on the _Aether_?” asks Commander Celine LeFleur.

“It was an honor, ma’am.”

“Here is an update,” says LeFleur. “We’re waiting for our protoculture tanks to be filled up. It might happen as late as tomorrow due to Galaxy City having a higher priority for the cargo fleets. We are still escorting Walkure unless and until Captain Chae tells us otherwise.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And we need all pilots on combat readiness in case the Windies go for round two. Including you, Mr. Yamada, and I doubt dress whites are suitable for flying a veritech.”

“I’ll take care of it, Commander.”

Ooooooo

Kaname Buccaneer finally lies down on her bed inside her private quarters in the _Aether_. The room is dark; all lights have been shut off.

She cries and sobs.

She always had feelings for Messer.

She could still remember her first meeting with him, at the Air Force Psychiatric Hospital near Ely, Nevada on Planet Earth.

She recalls the many meetings with him, how he introduced her to Chuck and Mirage and Hayate.

She knew why he could never form a close bond with his teammates.

And she can still remember that night during the Jellyfish Festival, the jellyfish rising, his baring of his life story.

She did not feel this was fair!

She just wants Messer back!

Oooooo

Keith Aero Windermere looks at his SV-262 Draken veritech fighter, currently being serviced by the Aerial Knights’ mechanics, the panels open, exposing the mechanical innards. He had heard that power had been restored to most of the _Sigur Valens_. The young knight knows they are not in orbit around Windermere, nor anywhere in the Brisingr Globular Cluster for that matter.

“It’ll take a day to get this baby back in shape,” says one of the mechanics clad in stained overalls.

“Thanks,” replies Keith.

“That was a battle to behold,” says Master Hermann Kross. “Two fierce warriors.”

“There is no way that Earth scum could even measure up to you,” says Bogue Con-Vaart. “That vermin paid the price for messing with you.”

Bogue suddenly feels something slam into him, and in a fraction of a second, he is on the metal deck. Keith is stepping on his chest, placing pressure above the sternum.

“Could you ride the wind like that?” asks Keith. “If it had been him and you alone, you would have been _dead_ in seconds! If you say anything contemptuous about him, I will dislocate your shoulders _and_ your hips!”

“Yes, sir,” Bogue replies weakly.

“We must kill the Earthlings whenever battle calls,” says Kross. “But do not hate them. My wife, the mother of my children, was born on Earth.”

“I…I never saw her as an Earth woman,” says Bogue.

“They oppose us, we kill them, but it is no less tragic,” says Chancellor Roid Brehm, walking to the hangar deck. “We are working for a greater good, but we must not forget the suffering we inflict to reach our goals. The man Keith killed- he must have a grieving family, parents who love him.”

“You make a good point,” says Keith.

“I must now debrief your father.”

And Roid leaves, escorted by two Royal Guards wearing camouflage instead of the wide-brimmed hat with the feather, red tunic, white tights, and high-black boots they would wear at the Royal Palace. After walking through some corridors and riding lifts and horizontal transports, they reach the high-security area where the Royal family has its staterooms.

He finally reaches the King’s stateroom. Two Royal Guards stand watch by the double doors.

“Your Excellency,” says the senior of the Guards.

“As you were,” replies the Chancellor.

He opens the door and enters the stateroom. The living room is three stories high, with a central staircase. The most luxurious of furniture is inside.

He sees a man, appearing to be in his late forties, with long lavender hair. He wears simple slacks and a collared shirt.

“Any news, Roid?” asks King Gramis Nerich Windermere.

“I do have more details about our current situation,” replies Roid. “Is Heinz okay?”

“He is resting,” replies the king. “Come join me in my study.”

Roid walks up the stairs and Gramis leads him to a room along the hallway. It is a comfortable room, with the floor covered with a reddish carpet. There is a desk with the keyboard, mouse, and monitor of a desktop computer on top.

“Tell me more,” says Gramis.

“From what our battle damage assessment teams have said, a volley of missiles struck the sound gun just before we folded into hyperspace,” says Roid. “It caused a chain reaction, destroying the sound gun and causing explosions on multiple decks. About twenty of the crew was instantly killed. Twelve more are in critical condition in the sick bay. A hundred are too injured to work. It is tragic.”

“I agree, my friend. May the wind carry their souls from this physical Universe. What of the ship’s systems?”

“As I said before, the sound gun was completely destroyed. The omnidirectional barrier system was also completely destroyed. Two reflex furnaces are down. The main hyperspace fold drive is down. We do have the auxiliary fold drives, but I must say that even with running the remaining reflex furnaces and the auxiliary drives at full power, it will take us twelve days to return to Windermere.”

“Twelve days?” The king is alarmed. They had taxed the _Sigur Valens’s_ hyperspatial transport systems to be able to fold all the way to Galaxy City in minutes.

“That is a maximum, Gramis. If we can repair even one of the reflex furnaces- let alone the main fold drive- this ship can return to the Cluster sooner.”

“And if we can’t, we could be stuck here for twelve days.”

“This ship is stuck here; we are not. I already summoned additional engineering teams. Also, we summoned hospital ships to transport some of the wounded back to Windermere, so the medical officers here can focus more on the hard cases. They can be on Windermere IV by tomorrow.”

“And Heinz must go back. Having my heir and me on the same ship was a great risk.”

“Of course.”

Ooooooo

Marie Crystal walks through the hallways of the Citadel, the Headquarters for the United Earth Forces Supreme Command. She is still familiar with the layout of the building from her term as Supreme Commander. The building is very busy, with uniformed servicemen, and civilians in business clothes, walking about. Like Crystal, they all have badges clipped to their coats or shirts.

After being checked in by the Citadel Police, she enters the part of the building which has the offices of the Supreme Commander and his staff. She passes several uniformed persons in the hallway.

She then enters this large office. It is a front office, with a table and a cushioned bench and a des. Sitting behind the desk is an Air Force air sergeant, a man in his mid thirties with black hair and an olive complexion.

“Air Sergeant, I am Marie Crystal,” she says. “I am here to see Admiral Bernard.”

“Please present your I.D., ma’am,” replies Air Sergeant Timoteo Morales.

Crystal pulls out the plastic card. The man here, wearing a blue tunic and blue trousers with all the decorations, is one of three people in the United Earth Forces who has the authority to interrupt the Supreme Commander.

Morales is on the phone, and then hangs up the handset. “You may enter, ma’am,” he says.

Crystal hears a click. She walks to the double doors in the back and opens them.

The office on the other side is even larger than the front office. The floor is covered in a soft carpet. To the left is a wooden bookcase filled with all sorts of books. To the right is an alcove that contains a mini-galley which has a small sink, a small refrigerator, a microwave oven, and cabinets; a coffee maker sits on the marble counter of the galley. On the right side in the back of the officer is a door, and from her personal experience Marie knows it leads to a dressing room and a full-service bathroom.

Two men are inside the office. One of them is a human male with short-cropped lavender hair, just barely into manhood. He wears gray overalls and the chevrons on his sleeve reveal that he is a seaman in the United Nations Ocean Patrol. Of course, just being trustworthy enough to clean the Supreme Commander’s office gets him paid as much as a petty officer.

The other man, wearing a Class “A” U.N. Spacy uniform, with one two-inch stripe and three one-inch stripes on his sleeves, and a sling over his right arm, is none other than Admiral Scott Bernard, the Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces.

“I want to talk to Marie Crystal here,” says the admiral. “Seaman, if you could leave and report to your superior.”

“Yes, sir,” replies the sailor, and he leaves with the mop and bucket. He wastes no time in leaving, knowing that, among other things, the Supreme Commander can throw him in the brig with but a single order.

“Hi, Scott,” says Marie. “How’s the arm.’”

“Still hurts a lot,” replies Scott. “Can’t take painkillers as they’ll make me too loopy to function.”

“And how are things going in headquarters?”

“We have quite a few vacancies. Yusuf’s been working on a short list for the Secretary General.”

Marie knows that Yusuf is Admiral Yusuf Obegwo. Admiral Obegwo had been Commandant of the United Nations Ocean Patrol, but since the Var outbreak and the deaths of many of the Joint Chiefs, as second-ranking survivor, he became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Yes, we’re expecting the General Assembly- not to mention the Security Council- to convene by tomorrow.”

“I just can’t believe it, Marie. Just a few days ago, my biggest concern was my oldest starting high school. And now I am in command of a military force with over ten million active duty servicemen. Ten million people I am responsible for! I mean, when I was Chief, I only had to make sure the ships were running and the crews were disciplined, and now I have to lead a war!”

“It’s what we signed up for, Scott.”

“I feel…I feel you should be sitting behind this desk, not me. You were an excellent Supreme Commander. You have had what, thirty years of leadership experience?”

“Scott, that would be going backwards. We can’t go backwards, especially with a war the likes we’ve never fought. You and Yusuf are the future of the United Earth Forces, Scott.”

“We shouldn’t have been complacent. We should have known that the price of peace is eternal vigilance!”

“I wish I could say that I warned the Secretary General and the Security Council when that was my desk,” says Marie. “I completely went along with it. I agreed with them that we needed to transform the United Earth Forces from a warfighting force to a disaster relief, piracy suppression, and exploration force. And during my tenure, we never had a war. Well, the Frontier colonization mission did end up in the middle of an alien civil war, but we managed to avoid full scale war. Anyway we went too far in drawing down our forces.”

“I am behind enough on my own work as it is,” says Scott. “Thank you for visiting. The coffee machine works; you can have a cup of coffee before you go.”

“You’re welcome,” replies Marie.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arad figures out where the Windermereans will strike next.

The _Sigur Valens_ and its escorts orbit the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Repair crews continue to work on the damaged ship. The medical officers continue to treat the wounded.

And some transport vessels arrive, to evacuate some of the wounded back to Windermere IV.

And to evacuate Crown Prince Heinz Nerich Windermere. Having the king and the crown prince on the same vessel is a huge risk- a risk judged by the king to be worth it, due to the damage done to the capital of the United Nations, but now that the damage had already been done…

The Crown Prince is inside the waiting area for the docking port, which has a table and several chairs. He is escorted by two Royal Guards.

“I wish I could have visited Cousin Hendrik,” says Heinz.

“He is busy treating the wounded who could not be sent home,” replies his older brother, Keith Aero Windermere. “And our father and I must stay here. Make sure to catch up on your studies.”

The two brothers hug.

“Take care.”

Heinz and the two Guards walk through the docking sleeve to the transport vessel.

Seconds later, word of the Prince’s arrival reaches the bridge.

“Callsign for Gust Two Four has changed,” says the skipper of the transport. “Callsign is changed to Space Force Two.”

“Space Force One to Space Force Two, we acknowledge change of call sign,” says the commander of the _Sigur Valens_.

An hour later, the transport with the callsign Space Force Two folds into hyperspace, on a course back to Windermere.

Oooooooo

“What did you find out?” asks Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman.

He is inside the hangar deck of the _Aether_. The hangar deck has all sorts of spacecraft. The spacecraft include the Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfrieds, all in fighter mode. This includes the veritech once flown by a squadron leader named Messer Oilfield.

The mechanic looks quite different from most people who are in the crew of the _Elysion_ , for he is a scalie- a people indigenous to Planet Glorie. Like almost all scalies, his skin is scaly and a shade of green. He has brown spots on his skin. He also had four arms and two legs. He has two eyes- two large eyes on the sides of his head, and two smaller eyes in the front.

The humans call him Greaser, as his name is too difficult to pronounce.

The _Elysion_ has since returned to the Xaos Airfield in Ragna, after its protoculture tanks were filled to the brim. The external transit time was just a little under a day; Captain Johnson did not want to wear out the fold drive too soon.

“I was inspecting the Oilfield’s ship,” says the mechanic, in his high-pitched squeaky voice. “Take a look at the seat inside the canopy.”

Hayate and Flying Officer Mirage Sterling look inside the cockpit of the Siegfried. There is a hole on the back of the seat.

“Whoever did this shot through his heart without damaging the major systems of the Siggy,” says Greaser.

“The White Knight wanted to kill him,” says Hayate.

“That’s what fighter pilots on opposite sides try to do to each other,” says Flying Officer Sterling.

“No. The White Knight is skilled. He could have just shot the engines, the power plant. But he shot Messer instead.” Hayate clenches his fist. The squadron leader’s death seems even more unnecessary. “Fuck him!”

Ooooooooo

Colonel Johnny Wolff looks at the screen of his laptop inside the temporary office on board the _Aether_. It had been his temporary office for two weeks now. It had been quite a while since he was inside his normal office at Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command Headquarters on the moon Tirol.

Having a temporary assignment as UEF liaison with an all-girl band is a rather…unprecedented assignment.

He looks at the screen; he can see his wife and two boys, who are all on Tirol.

“I want you two boys to be good,” says Johnny.

“Okay, Dad,” they say.

“And I love you too, Johnny,” says his wife.

“I know that, Keisha.”

Their image disappears from the screen. He sees an instant message notification and he answers it.

The colonel leaves his office, walking along the hallways. It does not take long for him to arrive at a room. Inside, he sees Wing Commander Arad Mulder, wearing a short-sleeve red shirt.

“Working on finding a new recruit for Delta Team?” asks Wolff. “I might be able to forward a request to Supreme Command.”

“We’ll worry about that later, Colonel,” replies the wing commander. “I’m waiting for our captain to get here.”

As if on cue, Captain Ernest Johnson enters the conference room. Colonel Wolff glances at his massive form.

“Hi, Arad,” he says. “you said you found something.”

“Yeah,” answers Mulder. He presses a button on the table and a 3D display of the Brisginr Globular Cluster. “The red dots show the worlds which fell to the Windies. These worlds have the same type of ruins found on Al Shahal and Voldor.”

“Yeah, we’ve been losing so much ground,” says Wolff.

“Now see here.”

After pressing another button, triangles appear; one of the vertices on each triangle corresponding to an occupied world. “Note how these triangles overlap? This blue dot here represents Ragna.” The wing commander presses another button, and a triangle appears. “They will be able to control the entire Cluster with that Wing song.”

“Then we need to get this report to the military,” says Johnson.

“I’ve already written the report, sir,” says Mulder.

“I will send it via encrypted message to General Obrycka,” says Colonel Wolff.

“I will forward this to Lady M’s office in One Times Square,” says Captain Johnson. “It is a matter of when, not if, the Windies attack Ragna.”

Oooooooo

Secretary General Nozawa Noriko walks through a door and enters the main chamber of the United Nations General Assembly, the supreme ruling body of the United Earth Government. She can see at least two hundred people inside.

“I thank you for coming here,” she says. “No doubt we have gathered here due to the terribly tragic events just a few days ago. My first act is an appropriations bill to pay for reconstruction and medical treatment.”

“I second the bill,” says one of the delegates.

“Very well, it shall go to the Finance Committee.”

“I introduce a resolution to remove Nozawa Noriko from the office of Secretary General of the United Nations,” says another delegate.

Nozawa frowns. “Excuse me?”

“I second this motion,” says another delegate.

The Secretary General takes a deep breath. “Very well, then. I will send this resolution to the Rules Committee.”

The Rules Committee is a major, prestigious committee in the General Assembly, which deals with the rules of the assembly, as well as resolutions to remove senior United Earth Government officials.

“Then I submit a petition for an immediate vote,” says another delegate.

“Seconded,” says still another delegate. 

While resolutions and bills to the floor normally go to the proper committee for debate and amendment, a bare majority can have a resolution or bill voted on immediately, which rarely happens, only if a huge majority of the delegates want it badly enough.

“Very well,” says Nozawa. “We shall vote.”

There is a thunderous applause, as a lopsided majority of the delegates support an immediate vote.

“I see,” says Nozawa. She is trembling slightly. Her heart races a little. She can hardly believe this is happening. “We will have a roll-call vote.”

And so each delegate enters their vote for the resolution to remove Nozawa Noriko from the Office of Secretary General.

She counts the votes twice.

“The resolution to remove Nozawa Noriko from the Office of secretary General has been approved,” she says, banging the gavel.

She walks off, no longer Secretary General.

She knows this had been decided.

This had probably been decided two days ago.

This just made it legal.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaname is in the depths of grief and despair. Can her bandmates help her out?

Kaname Buccaneer is in a daze.

She had finally found love, only for it to be taken away.

She barely notices her bedroom in Ragna, the bed, the desk, the laptop computer.

Her senses are dulled.

She feels detached.

She barely notices the empty whiskey bottles on the soft blue carpet.

She sobs again.

Why did this have to happen?

Why did Messer have to die?

She walks out of her bedroom, and into the main area of her house, which is a large room with a rectangular depression in the middle, surrounded by a rail. Querule the mercat sleeps on a couch by the wall.

“Kaname, are you all right?” asks Mirage Sterling.

“Messer’s gone.”

“I didn’t know him to well,” says Freyja Wion. “But I understand. He was one of us.”

“I mean, I was a virgin! He popped my cherry!”

“I so did not need to hear that,” says Mirage.

“Cherries?” asks Freyja. “I can buy some cherries when I go out shopping for groceries.”

The doorbell rings, and Mirage looks at the peephole.

She opens the door.

Kaname can see the long-purple-haired form of Mikumo Guynemer.

“I got some whiskey,” says Kaname.

“I can tell you are sad,” says Mikumo.

“Messer’s gone.”

“Yes, we miss him. We all miss him.” Mikumo looks into Kaname’s blue eyes. “You’ll die if you keep doing this to yourself.”

“Everybody dies someday.”

Mikumo gives the grieving woman a hug. Kaname feels a little bit of comfort.

“Would he want this?” asks Walkure’s lead singer.

“He would want to be alive,” answers Kaname. She is overcome by sadness again.

“You loved him, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Kaname,” says Mirage. “Messer would do anything for us. He committed his life to higher principles.”

Mirage’s word echo through Kaname’s memories. Messer always had a dedication to duty, to do what was right.

And she can still recall what she heard about his childhood. The only role models he could find were no living persons, but heroes in books and film, fictional characters who stood for ideas, and were willing to risk all for their sake. And Messer too, risked all for the sake of those relying on him.

“I know. It’s just…it’s just that I feel that I’ve lost everything.”

“Be strong for us,” says Mikumo. “I’m sure Messer would cherish you, the way you are.”

“Even after a whole bottle of whiskey?”

“Yes.”

“Listen, Kaname, Captain Johnson and Wing Commander Mulder have been planning another memorial for Messer on the beach,” says Mirage. “Chuck’s family is helping. It’s two nights from now.”

“That’s great,” says Kaname. “Messer would be honored. The…the Windies could kill him; they can’t take away his memory, his honor, you know.”

“I’ve been helping too,” says Freyja. “His mother RSVP’d.”

“His mother?’ asks Kaname, her eyes widening, her mind focusing despite her heavily drunken state.”

“Yes, that’s what your wing commander told me.”

Kaname had heard about the woman. She had heard what Messer had said about her.

Surely he would not lie about it. But maybe…

“I need to rest,” says Kaname. “But…but I’d like to see Reina tonight.”

“Oh, to help with the memorial service?” says Mikumo.

“Yes.”

Oooooooo

A man wearing a gray suit appears on a monitor screen. He had black hair, brown skin, and a short-cropped black beard. He raises his right hand, palm out.

“I, Siddhartha Tiwari,” he said, “do solemnly swear, to the best of my ability, to execute the duties of the office of Secretary General, and to uphold the laws and judgments of the General Assembly of the United Nations, which has supreme, absolute, and unlimited legislative, executive, judicial, and ecclesiastical power.

“I do not take office under joyous occasions. We still remember those who died in Galaxy City. Ending the war with Windermere must be my first priority, the first priority of my office, and the first priority of this Assembly.”

“So the United Nations has a new Secretary General,” says King Gramis Nerich Windermere, sitting inside a conference room inside the _Sigur Valens_.

“We will, of course, have to look up that man, once we gain access to the galaxy-wide Internet,” says Chancellor Roid Brehm.

He glances at the people in the room, both military and civilian.

One of the civilians stands up, an old man with white hair, appearing in his early seventies. “If I may speak, your Majesty,” he says.

“Go ahead,” says the king.

“This would be an excellent time to offer peace terms, my lord. The United Earth Government is in shambles after that outbreak in Galaxy City. This.. Towari..he knows how quickly Nozawa Noriko was ousted, and that same Assembly can oust him just as easily. A negotiated peace would be in his interest, to secure his office.”

“And what peace terms do you suggest?” asks Chancellor Brehm.

“My idea is to offer peace talks on the condition that all United Earth Forces be withdrawn from the Cluster. That’s right; no peace talks unless all United Earth Forces are withdrawn.”

“And you think the new Secretary General will do this?” asks Gramis.

“He is in a weak position, sire, and he knows it. To pass up this chance for peace would be having the shortest tenure as Secretary General in the history of the United Nations, even counting the period before it had a United Earth Government!”

“You are very shrewd. It is no wonder my late brother-in-law picked you as his senior aide.”

“Yes, my lord. I still remember when I accompanied him and Dr. Lang and a squad of Space Marines down to the surface of your homeworld, forty years ago. Earth is lost to me; Windermere is where my bones will finally rest.”

“We have a message from the bridge,” says a gray-uniformed Royal Space Force officer.

“How important is it?” asks Brehm.

“Sir, our stay here will be..shorter than originally estimated.”

Oooooo

United Nations Spacy Captain Ken Chae steps off the elevator. Instead of wearing service khakis or a white class “A” service uniforms, he wears simple black slacks, brown leather shoes, and a gray button-down shirt. He approaches a young woman standing behind a wooden booth; she is dressed in a white collared shirt and long black skirt. A black necktie is around her neck.

“Ken Chae,” he says. “An Ernest Johnson is expecting me.”

“Right this way, sir,” she says.

She leads him through the main room, which has many circular tables and white tablecloths; many of those tables have people sitting. Ken is taken to a table right by the window. He instantly recognizes Ernest Johnson, who is sitting with another man.

“Hi there,” he says.

“Hi, Ken,” says Ernest.

“Hello,” says Colonel Johnny Wolff, who is sitting next to Ernest. “Here, you can call me Johnny.”

‘Name’s Ken,” replies Ken, sitting down. “I’m captain of the _Leonard_. My ship is under orders to escort Walkure.”

“How is it going?”

“Now that our ship is on the surface, so many of my crew and Space Marines want shore leave. Commander LeFleur and Colonel Waterman have been busy with these requests.”

Johnny looks at the menu of the restaurant, a Ragnan fusion steakhouse located on the top floor of a skyscraper in downtown Barretteburg. Much of the downtown is visible, and the lights of the mainland neighborhoods are clearly visible.

“Wow,” he says. “This is expensive, even for a full colonel’s salary.”

“Might as well get the best,” says Ken. “You or I could be deployed away from this place at a moment’s notice.”

The three men order steaks with a fried jellyfish topic and some Ragnan sauce. Appetizers are asparagus, fried jellyfish, scalloped potatoes, and jellyfish mac and cheese with a parmesan-herb crust topping. Water and wine are served.

“I hear we have a new commander-in-chief,” says Ken, sticking a fork into some _au gratin_ potatoes. “Siddhartha Tiwari.”

“Do we really have to talk about work, Ken?” asks Johnny. “We did get a new Supreme Commander before that, Scott Bernard. I’ve met him a couple of times.”

“Really?” asks Ernie.

“You see, as Ernie here knows, I missed the Battle of Reflex Point. I was just a young third lieutenant assigned to the SDF-3 _Pioneer’s_ Space Marine detachment. But there was an accident testing the Neutron-S missiles, and we were stranded just outside the galaxy. It took three months for the U.N. to find us.”

“I was assigned on board the _Leonard_ when it was deployed to find the SDF-3,” says Ken.

“A few days after we were rescued and the ship was taken to Space Station Harmony for repairs, Scott Bernard- he was a commander then- visited me, and told me my dad died on Earth.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you see, my dad, Jonathan Wolff, was sent to Earth to fight the Robotech Masters- or what remained of them- less than forty years ago. I was only a small child when I was told my dad was stranded after the Evacuation. For thirteen years, I waited. I got my answer from Scott. It wasn’t the answer I wanted; it was better than no answer. He died a hero, resisting alien occupation.”

“One of my pilots,” says Ernie, “her father had been stranded on Earth after the Evacuation. He was being evacuated, but his escape shuttle was shot down. For thirteen years, his parents and older sister never found out what happened to him.”

“It must have been a happy reunion,” Ken says after savoring the texture and taste of _filet mignon_. He suddenly realized. “He did manage to reunite with them.”

“Eventually, yes, and he found out he had a younger sister as well, at least that’s what Mirage said.”

“Well, speaking of families, I’ve been meeting with Celine and Dan about arranging for the families of the crew to visit them here on Ragna,” says Ken. “I’m sure it will be great, even though they missed the jellyfish festival.”

Ernie bows his heads. “We believe Ragna is where the Windies will attack next,” he says. “It may be dangerous to put them in the line of fire.”

The _filet mignon_ with fried jellyfish topping does not seem as appetizing to Ken Chae.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Secretary General discusses the United Nations' options regarding the next step in the war with Windermere.

Kaname Buccaneer looks around the courtyard of the apartment building. The courtyard itself has a concrete surface, with all sorts of plants growing. Above the courtyard is the Ragnan night sky. Three mercats play around inside, probably strays.

She, Mirage, and Freyja walk up a staircase to the balcony. After some more walking of the concrete balcony, they come across a door.

The Walkure manager rings the doorbell.

The door is opened.

“Kana Kana!” exclaims Makina Nakajima. “Mira Mira! Fre Fre!”

“Hi,” replies Kaname.

“I hear you want to help with the memorial for Mesa Mesa,” she says.

The three of them enter the living room. It looks typical, with sofas and a coffee table and a large-screen television. A video game is being played.

“Hi there,’ says Reina Prowler.

“We need your help,” replies Walkure’s manager. “It’s about Messer.”

“I can do that,” replies Reina, ‘if you can play _Mario Kart 64_ with me.”

“A video game?”

“Rei-Rei loves _20 th Century Classics_,” says Makina.

“Okay,” says Kaname.

“Up to four can play,” says Reina.

And so Mirage and Freyja join along with Kaname, each of the holding the controllers. They all play the game, with Reina selecting the level “Wario Stadium”

“It’s like off-road racing,” says Reina.

They all select various cartoonish characters and then use the controller to control go-kart-like vehicles along this dirt track with many ramps for jumping, and obtaining items like banana peels, mushrooms, and stars.

After a while, the race is over, with the image of a creature riding in a cloud appearing above the winning kart.

Kaname smiles, the first time she did so since that fateful battle near Galaxy City.

“All right,” says Reina, putting down the controller for her video game console, “what do you need?”

“Listen,” says Kaname. “Messer was seeking custody of his younger sister, Shammy.”

“Sammie?” asks Makina.

“No, Shammy.”

“Why would he seek custody of his sister?” asks Mirage.

“Is there any way you could look up Alfheim Family Court cases?” asks Kaname. “I would like to see the documents and exhibits.”

“Family court, eh,” says Reina. “Family court files would be sealed, accessible only to select people. There’s probably encryption involved. It’ll be as difficult as breaking into a security system of a U.N. military base. It should take, oh, less than ten minutes.”

She walks to an Apple HyperMac desktop computer sitting at a desk in the corner of the room. Kaname follows her.

“I should do a search for ‘Messer Oilfield’ and ‘Shammy’,” says Reina, typing into a keyboard and moving the mouse. Kaname recognizes a window showing a web page, and another window showing all sorts of letters of symbols.

“This has got to be the court case,” says Reina.

Mirage looks at the screen. “In Re Shammy P.,” she says.

“Let’s see,” says Reina. “There’s a judgment. Petitioner was denied custody due to his involuntary mental hospitalization by the Air Force following a Var outbreak on Ragna. There are sealed files and exhibits, so it’ll take a bit more hacking to get there.”

They wait a few minutes; Kaname notices the symbols and letters in one of the windows on the screen keep changing.

“I’m pulling up a sealed appendix,” says Reina.

An image appears; it is a United Nations Air Force personnel file of one Messer Oilfield.

“It’s definitely Messer,” says Kaname.

“Honorably discharged due to medical reasons,” says Mirage. “Second lieutenant.”

“Let’s see more exhibits,” says Reina. She makes a few clicks.

They all see a video.

They watch it three times.

It is hard to believe what happened.

“What should we do?” asks Makina, her normally chipper voice now sullen.

“I want to find out what his mother is like now,” says Kaname.

Oooooooo

Sadness pervades the courtyard inside the Citadel, the Headquarters of the United Earth Forces Supreme Command. Hundreds of servicemen are attending a formal memorial service, all of them in their formal dress uniforms. Ocean Patrol Admiral Yusuf Obegwo is presiding on behalf of the new Supreme Commander, Admiral Scott Bernard.

Uniformed chaplains lead prayers.

The Galaxy City Space Marine Band plays various polished instruments.

United Nations Space Marine General Quan Minh looks on.

“It’s over,” says the general. “Let’s get back to work.”

“Yes, sir,” replies Brigadier General Ronald Wright Immelman.

He, like General Minh, wear the Space Marine dress blues, with a deep blue tunic over the torso, white trousers, a white peaked cap on the head, and white gloves. A belt with a polished brass buckle is worn over the tunic. Polished black shoes are worn over the feet. Minh has four silver stars on each shoulder, while Immelman has one silver star on each shoulder.

“You’re the Commandant now, sir,” says Command Sergeant Major Chung Bai. “I’ve got your back.”

“Of course.”

Immelman had met the command sergeant major a few times during his assignment in Galaxy City. Chung is a tall man with amber-complected skin and black hair. He wears the Space Marine dress blues like the two generals, except his trousers are blue with a red stripe, and there are three chevrons and three arcs on his sleeve, and in the middle is a star. Hanging from a silk ribbon around his neck is the Medal of Honor- the highest military award in the United Earth Forces. He had received this award for his actions in the Battle of Reflex Point- one of the few to receive the Medal for their actions in that historic battle, and one of the fewer to be alive to receive it in person. Command Sergeant Major Chung, being the Space Marine Headquarters Command Sergeant Major one of the most important Space Marines; even generals have to speak with someone like the command sergeant major to have a chance for an audience with the Commandant of the Space Marines.

And General Minh, who had been Vice Commandant, had by law succeeded to the post of Commandant after the Var outbreak. So many had been promoted by operation of law, including Admirals Bernard and Obegwo. Minh himself had been attending a meeting of the Joint Chiefs regarding the next course of action in the war with Windermere.

Chung salutes the two generals, and they salute back.

Ooooooooo

Siddhartha Tiwari can still hardly believe it.

He is the Secretary General of the United Nations, the principal executive officer of the United Earth Government. He had been briefed on so many topics by his staff. He is still trying to get used to finding his way around the Secretary General’s Palace.

And now he sits, inside a glass booth in the Palace, designed to be insulated from eavesdropping.

“Admiral Bernard, you said you have the next course of action in the war?” asks the Secretary General.

“Yes, sir,” replies Admiral Scott Bernard, the Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces. “The Xaos Corporation, one of our contractors, deduced that the Windies will attack Ragna next, to try to control the Robotech Masters ruins. The J-2’s- the intelligence directorates- of both Supreme Command and Defense Command have come to this same conclusion independently after reviewing the raw data.

“We know the Windies have used this technology to trigger Var, even on people who have been waccinated recently. If the Windies take Ragna, they can trigger Var anywhere in the Brisingr Globular Cluster. We must destroy the ruins. Our plan requires the use of a shaped hydrogen bomb charge to detonate at the site of the ruins.”

“A hydrogen bomb?” asks Tiwari.

“Yes, your Excellency. The ruins on Ragna are under the ocean, four hundred klicks from Barretteburg. We’ll also need to evacuate Barretteburg as a precaution. I just need your permission, sir.”

“Anyone else have any opinions?” asks the Secretary General.

“We have to stop the Windies’ offensive,” says Galactic Security Advisor Marie Crystal.

Secretary General Tiwari takes a deep breath. He had been the consensus among the delegates before they met to oust Nozawa.

And now he has to decide whether or not to deploy nuclear weapons- and on a friendly planet!

“Is there any other way?” he asks.

“Your Excellency, we want to deprive the Windies of the use of the Ragna ruins as fast as practically possible,” says Crystal.

“Then we must do it,” says Tiwari. “I will inform the Security Council personally.”

“I’ve already set as much as we need in place,” says the Supreme Commander. “We will proceed, sir.”

Ooooooooo

General Immelman returns home to his penthouse apartment just half a mile from the Space Marines Headquarters Annex, after working late due to recent circumstances. He still wears his dress blues from the memorial service. The place is large, quite affordable on a brigadier general’s salary, with cozy furniture. He walks into his study, turning on his HyperMac.

He decides to make a video call. For a few seconds he wonders if it would go to voice mail.

An image of his son Hayate appears, just wearing as white T-shirt.

“Hi, Dad,” he says.

“How have you been doing?” asks his father.

Hayate breathes a sigh of relief. He had received a text message hours after the Battle of Galaxy City, but there is something reassuring about his father personally speaking to him after that Var outbreak. It seemed more real.

“We lost our squadron leader,” he says.

“Squadron leader?’ asks his father.

“Yeah. Squadron Leader Messer Oilfield. He was killed in the battle near Galaxy City.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You must have known what that’s like.”

“Yeah. My first combat assignment after being commissioned in the Marines was the Battle of Reflex Point,” says the elder Immelman. “I can remember when I first set foot on Earth, after fifteen years. There were so many Marines and airmen and soldiers in this old airport, preparing for the attack on Reflex Point. In my unit was this gunny. Everyone respected him. He would do right for his subordinate Marines and his superior officers. Less than a minute after the battle began, he was killed. There was absolutely no warning. He was just killed instantly. Not even any last words.”

Hayate bows. He wonders if Oilfield had seen the cannon aiming at him before it fired the fatal shot.

“I’m sorry.”

“I still remember, even though it was over twenty-three years ago. I know so many people who fought in that battle. And I’ve known so many people who were killed in Galaxy City.”

Memories of that long ago battle, and memories of the aftermath of the Galaxy City Var outbreak, surface in the general’s mind. He can still remember the explosions, the smell of explosive powder residue and ozone, the sight of the enemy mecha.

These memories often surface whether he wants them or not.

“Listen, Dad,” says Hayate. “There’s going to be a memorial service in two days. I can e-mail you the details.”

“I can’t make any promises,” says his father. “But I might be able to offer some favors in exchange for getting two days off.”

“Sure. I’ll e-mail you the details.”

Ooooooooo

Chief Engineer Holzgang walks along with the skipper. He had been working pretty much non-stop ever since the Battle of Galaxy City. He does have an important update, and the skipper is accompanying him.

They approach a pair of Royal Guards, wearing their camouflage. The two men present their credentials, and the Guards let them pass.

They open a set of double doors, entering a conference room full of people. Upon seeing their king, they both bow.

“Your Majesty,” says the skipper. “I bring Chief Engineer Holzgang.”

“We hear you have a status update,” says King Gramis.

Chief Engineer Holzgang’s heart races. He was excited to have been assigned to the Sigur Valens, the flagship of the Kingdom of the Wind. And now he is directly debriefing the king himself?

“Your Majesty,” says Holzgang, “we made repairs on the reflex furnaces and the main fold drive. We are confident we can fold to the Station, with the external transit time taking just over a day.”

“And how long will repairs take?”

“That depends, my lord. Maybe two or three days.”

“Can you explain to us why we can not fold all the way to Windermere in just ten minutes?” asks the king.

“Sire, it would be too dangerous,” says the chief engineer. “If we use main fold drive at full power, it could scatter our subatomic particles across the galaxy!”

“And that would be a bad thing, right?”

“Of course, my liege. Very bad.”

“Is it possible that, if we traveled slower, we could do another fold in case of contingencies?”

“Yes, your Majesty. With a significant reduction in power, we can still travel at half the speed I quoted.”

“So a three day fold to the Cluster won’t strain the fold drives so much that we can still refold?”

“Yes, my lord,” says Holzgang.

“Skipper, that is what we will do,” says Gramis. “We will take a three-day fold to the planet Ragna. Chief Engineer Holzgang will monitor the fold system. If there is a sign of any trouble, he will shut down and defold.”

“We will work on this at once, sire,” says the skipper.

“Dismissed.”

The two men leave the conference room.

Minutes later, the skipper is inside the bridge. It looks like a typical vessel bridge, with the skipper’s seat as well as consoles on the bulkheads.

“Hyperspace fold calculations complete, sir,” says a Space Force sergeant sitting at one of the consoles.

“Initiate hyperspace fold now,” says the skipper.

“Yes, sir.”

A sphere surrounds the _Sigur Valens_ and its escorts, and they all fold in hyperspace, on a course to Ragna.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delta Team, Walkure, and friends and family gather on the beach in memory of Messer.

Joint Forces Air Field Ragna is the largest United Earth Forces military base on the surface of Planet Ragna, and the largest surface military base anywhere in the Brisingr Globular Cluster. Located just eighty klicks from Baretteburg, it has several runways, an air traffic control tower, hangars, and many other buildings to support the units hosted here.

One of these buildings is the headquarters for Military Assistance Command- Brisingr Globular Cluster (MACBGC) , a joint forces command under the Robotech Defense Forces Command. This command is responsible for providing military assistance to all United Nations member states in the Cluster. The building itself has four stories, with various rooms like offices, conference rooms, break rooms, a mess hall, restrooms, supply rooms, and a command center with access to hyperspatial communications.

Several people wait inside the room. Among them is Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka. She and other uniformed servicemen wait; they all wear short sleeve class “C” uniforms, which is typically a collared shirt and trousers and black dress shoes.

Several people enter. One of them is a man in short-sleeve service khakis, wearing a blue sling around his right arm. He has a set of four silver stars on his collar. Colored ribbons on his shirt tell the story of his service.

“Admiral Scott Bernard, Supreme Commander of the United Earth Forces,” says the man.

“General Obrycka, commander of Military Assistance Command- Brisingr Globular Cluster,” says Obrycka. “My command has been informed that we will report directly to Supreme Command for this operation.”

“Major Marin will deliver the briefing,” says the Supreme Commander.

A man with black hair, appearing to be in his early thirties, wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue trousers, speaks up. “Sirs and ma’ams, I am Major Larry Marin, United Nations Air Force, Office of Strategic Planning for the United Earth Forces Supreme Command Joint Staff.”

“If you could be so kind as to deliver the briefing,” says Obrycka.

“Yes, ma’am,” replies the major. “We deduced that the Windies’ next target is the Robotech Masters ruins on Ragna, under the sea about four hundred klicks from Barretteburg.”

“That is a popular tourist attraction,” says a rear admiral in the Ragna Navy, wearing a uniform very similar to the Class “C” uniforms worn by the Ocean Patrol. “I do know that there is a naval blockade of the area recently. I was told it was because of the war.”

“Yes, sir,” replies Marin. “And that is why we will destroy it with a hydrogen bomb. We can not let the Windies have it.”

“A hydrogen bomb?” asks a man in a khaki uniform, who is a general in the Ragna Marine Corps.

“We have come to the conclusion that the structure needs to be thoroughly destroyed,” says Major Marin. “His Excellency the Secretary General has ordered this after consulting with his advisors. An Ocean Patrol underwater demolition team is setting up the bomb.”

“When will this bomb detonate?” asks General Obrycka.

“It is scheduled to detonate in thirty-six hours, ma’am,” says the major. “It will be enough time to get our ships a safe distance away, and to evacuate the Baretteburg area as a precaution.”

“So this is what the war has made necessary,” says a Ragnan admiral.

“We will do what is necessary to minimize civilian casualties,” says Admiral Bernard. “I shall now head back to the SDF-4.”

Bernard and Marin leave the building, with all the uniformed personnel stopping to stand at attention for the Supreme Commander. They leave the building, where a Toyota Avalon staff car awaits to take them to the Star Sparrow shuttle that will take them to the SDF-4 _Liberator_.

The two officers know that it is a question of when, not if, the Windermereans arrive at Ragna.

Captains Ernest Johnson and Ken Chae had also attended the meeting with Bernard, Marin, and Obrycka, and they too know that same thing.

Oooooooo

Shammy Parsons stands as her mother applies some more makeup.

“There there,” says her mother, Kim Oilfield Parsons. “That should do it.”

“Darlin’, you look perfect,” says Billy Ray Diamond, Kim’s boyfriend. “You’re such a sweet girl.”

He kisses her on the forehead.

The three of them are inside this vacation rental condo about ten miles from downtown Barretteburg. It is a two-level condo, with a full living room and a full-service kitchen and some bedrooms.

“I know Messer’s my brother,” says Shammy, “I just do not remember him.”

“You were just a toddler when he ran away,” says Kim.

Shammy had seen pictures of the young dark-haired boy. They had been having family problems at the time. Messer had run away after Shammy’s father had left the family to pursue a sexual relationship with a young girl.

For ten years, the two of them scraped by. Bills had been often late. Sometimes they would stay with friends or even sleep in a car.

They scraped by until Billy Ray Diamond entered their lives. He gave them a lifestyle they had never known.

Shammy’s life changed forever.

She looks at herself at a full-length mirror inside the bedroom. She has light brown hair and pale skin, like her mother Kim. She wears a white sleeveless blouse and a black skirt that reaches past the knees. She only wears white socks on her feet, though she will wear heels.

“Kim, Shammy, let’s go,” says Billy. “We don’t wanna miss the start of the ceremony.”

“Okay, Billy,” replies Shammy, putting the heels on her two feet. She and Kim walk down the stairs, out through the small living room, and to the curb where their rental car is parked. They all get into the white rental car; a parking permit hanging from the rear view mirror. Billy pushes a button to start the car’s engine. He puts it in gear and drives off, reaching the public roads.

“I’m glad you came here with us, taking time off work,” Kim says to Billy.

“Well, I know the history you had with Messer, but he’s still your boy,” replies her boyfriend. “I’ll have a lot of work to catch up on when I get back, but it’s worth it. For you and for Shammy.”

Billy continues driving for maybe ten minutes or so. Traffic is a little heavy, due to this being rush hour. He makes a right turn at a light, and soon pulls up to a pay parking lot for the beach. After maybe a minute of driving around the asphalt surface, he finds a parking space. All three of them step out of the car.

“I wonder where it is,” says Shammy.

“It’s supposed to be just outside this restaurant, the Ranayan, I think,” replies her mother.

They walk along the pathway next to the beach. To their left are some buildings housing various types of businesses, all catering to pedestrians. The sun sets behind them. The ocean to their right has glowing lights. In the distance is the dome that covers downtown Barretteburg. They all hear the waves crash, and they can smell the salt water.

“There they are,” says Billy.

The three of them see a crowd of people standing at the beach, so they walk towards them.

“Excuse me,” says Kim. “Is there a Kaname Buccaneer here?”

“That’s me,” says a red-haired woman wearing a necklace, a short-sleeve green blouse, and olive-green trousers. “I’m the manager of Walkure.”

“I’ve heard of you,” says Shammy. “that band that plays to treat that crazy plague. I’m Shammy. I’m Messer’s younger half-sister.”

“Messer told me about you,” says Kaname.

“I am Kim Oilfield Parsons,” says Kim. “Messer’s mother. How much has he said?”

“He said he ran away.”

“I had not seen him since.”

“So you’re his mom,” says a boy with blue hair, wearing a vest, shirt, and shorts.

“You are?” asks Kim.

“Hayate Immelman,” says the boy. “I’m sorry about your loss.”

“I first lost him when he ran away,” replies Kim. “I was reaching out to him, hoping we could reconnect, but to find this out.”

“I’m terribly sorry,” says an older man in his mid-forties who resembles Hayate. He wears a short-sleeve collared shirt and blue jeans. “Ron Immelman, Hayate’s dad.”

A huge man in his mid twenties walks to the woman. He has tan skin and dark hair. “Name’s Chuck,” he says. “I was one of Messer’s co-workers. What we will do here- before we go to my dad’s restaurant for dinner- is to send Messer’s spirit to the sea, to be one with the jellyfish.”

“Well, that’s nice,” says Billy.

“Are you his dad?”

“Well, ah, no. I’m not Shammy’s dad either. I’ve been living with Kim and Shammy for two years now. Name’s Billy Ray Diamond. ”

“Billy’s been good to us,” says Kim. “I hadn’t much luck with men; Messer’s father left me when he found out I was pregnant, when I was fifteen. I later married and had Shammy, and her father left me to be with a young girl. The next ten years were hard. I worked two jobs when I was lucky to have them. When Billy started seeing me, things changed. We moved in with him.”

“That’s right,” says Billy. “I mean, like Kim here, I’m divorced. Meeting Kim and Shammy was the best day out of my life.”

“Are you going to take it to the next level?” asks a man with reddish brown hair, with a reddish brown goatee. He wears a red shirt, brown jacket, and brown trousers.

“And you are?” asks Billy.

“Arad Mulder, the leader of Messer’s veritech unit.”

Billy introduces himself. “Well, you see, I not only need Kim’s permission, I need Shammy’s permission as well. I’ll be askin’ to be her daddy, ya know. Although asking now, when Kim learned her baby boy died, it’s not the right time now. But someday.”

“Okay, dude, I know today’s not exactly the right time, but maybe some other day, like your birthday of her birthday, or her little girl’s birthday.”

Billy looks and sees a blond-haired man in a white shirt and tan shorts. He introduces himself.

“Name’s Barney,” says the blond-haired man. “I play sports with Messer in this sports club we have.”

“Yeah,” says Hayate. “Messer has really good friends. I learned so much about him.”

“Me too,” says Kaname.

Not far away, Shammy looks around. She had only heard tales of her older brother, but now she, being among his colleagues, Messer feels more real to her.

She comes across two girls, both with green hair, both wearing shorts and white T-shirts, both looking identical. They look about her age.

“Oh, hi,” she says. “I’m Shammy, Messer’s sister.”

“You knew him?” asks one of the girls.

“No, he ran away from home when I was very young.”

“I’m amber,” says the other girl.

“And I’m Ashley,” says the first girl.

“How are you two girls?” asks a man that somewhat resembles them, with green hair and eyeglasses. He appears to be in his early fifties.

Shammy introduces herself. “Did you work with my brother?” she asks.

“No,” replies the man. “But my daughter Mirage did. I’m Steven Michael Sterling. These are Mirage’s sisters. They, their mom, and I came all the way here from Earth to attend this ceremony. Mirage also has two older brothers, who couldn’t make it.”

“Who’s this, Dad?” asks a purple-haired woman in her early twenties, wearing a white blouse, black vest, and black trousers.

Shammy introduces herself.

“So you’re Messer’s sister,” she says. “I’m Mirage; I flew with Messer. Nice to meet you.”

“Hey everyone!” yells Chuck. “It’s starting!”

And so everyone gathers. All of Walkure and Delta Team are here. Ernest Johnson is here. Barry Wu and Naomi Singh are here, along with their three children. Johnny Wolff and Ken Chae and Roy Yamada are also here, dressed in ultra-casual clothes instead of military uniforms. Barney and some friends from the sports club are also here.

Zack and Hack Mustang hold something covered in tarp.

They remove the tarp, revealing a model of the Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighter.

“This model plane is the vessel that will carry the spirit of Messer Oilfield out into the sea,” says Chuck. “We will say goodbye to him.”

And so Zack and Hack walk to the shoreline, where the water crashes on to the sand. Hayate stands near. They place the model plane in the water and they give it a push. It floats away from the beach.

Memories surface, memories of a friend, a colleague, a mentor. There is only silence. No one says a word.

Walkure starts singing, singing a sad tune, a song of saying goodbye.

And then the song ends. There is none of the applause or cheering that usually happens when Walkure performs live, only silence.

“Okay then,” says Chuck in a sullen voice. “Let’s go eat in memory of Messer.”

Mirage’s mother approaches Messer’s mother.

“I’m sorry,” she says.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Messer's friends and family have a memorial dinner inside the Ragnanyannyan. What truths will be revealed?

About two hundred fifty miles from the coast of Baretteburg, and eight hundred eighty fathoms under the seas of the Planet Ragna, is a centuries-old ruin built by the Robotech Masters. It is speculated it sank into the sea maybe forty years ago. It is a very tall structure, nearly fifty stories high. In times past, there were luxury submarine tours from the Port of Barretteburg, with observations bubbles allowing passengers to see the ruins up close. Exoarchaelogists have studied the site, though it is far more difficult to study the Ragna ruins than the Voldor ruins or the Al Shahal ruins, due to the fact that it was about a mile underwater.

Now, a United Nations Ocean Patrol underwater demolition team (UDT) works at the site, to set up a hydrogen bomb to destroy the ruins, preventing the Windermereans from using them to amplify the Song of the Wind and trigger Var Syndrome. These divers are among the best, having spent nearly a year in training, from basic training to airborne school to the Basic Underwater Demolition (BUD) School at the Ocean patrol Reservation near Xiamen, China, on Planet Earth.

“It should be ready,” says Ocean patrol Diver’s Mate First Class Martin Suarez, checking an electronic readout. He, like the other divers, wear underwater power armor, complete with pressurized air tanks.

“We had better send a message to the Swim Coach,” says Master Chief Petty Officer Ling Hai Huang.

The master chief has had two decades of experience in underwater demolitions. He did that while serving in Ocean Patrol units stranded on Earth during the Occupation. After the Battle of Reflex Point, he decides to accept a standard enlistment in the Ocean Patrol, and had done demolition work for construction as well as search and rescue operations. This is the first time in a quarter century that he had to do an underwater demolition job in the context of combat.

Above the ocean’s surface, in fact, overt a thousand miles above the surface of the planet, the SDF-4 _Liberator_ orbits. It happens to be used as the flagship of the United Earth Forces Supreme Command at this very moment. Inside the ship is a command center allowing a flag or general officer to have command and control over units in space, on the surface of a world, or under the surface of a body of water.

Admiral Scott Bernard walks in. He wears a light grayish blue armor over his service khakis, like most everyone on board. Many of the people in the room still notice the Supreme commander’s right arm being in a sling.

“Report,” says the admiral.

“Admiral, we have a message from the clock workers,” says an Army major, wearing light armor over his MARPAT camouflage. “The weapon is ready.”

“Tell them to set the alarm for thirty-six hours,” says Bernard.

“Yes, sir.”

“We have a message from the swim coach,” says Suarez. “Set the alarm for thirty-six hours.”

“That will be my job, Suarez,” says Master Chief Ling. He presses buttons on a remote designed to function under a mile of salty seawater. “This is Watch Winders to Swim Coach. Alarm is set. Waiting for your signal to start the clock.”

“Admiral,” says Major Larry Marin, standing next Admiral Bernard. “It is now or never.”

The Supreme Commander takes a deep breath. “Set the alarm,” he says.

The message is quickly transmitted to the underwater demolition divers.

Master Chief Ling presses a button.

He receives confirmation.

The detonator timer for the hydrogen bomb is counting down from thirty-six hours.

“Alarm clock has started and is ticking,” says the master chief. “We have less than thirty-six hours before the alarm goes off. We were withdrawing.”

The diving team all swim towards a large, twenty-meter wide capsule, connected to a hypercarbon-steel cable. Master Chief Ling waits until the others go inside, then he himself goes inside the capsule.

The capsule is pulled up by a winch. The divers nervously wait.

Finally, the capsule makes it on board an Ocean Patrol destroyer, which sails away as soon as the diving capsule touches ground; the other ships- both of the Ocean Patrol and the Ragnan Navy- having already departed. The divers are transferred into another pressurized capsule, which is moved by sailors to the decompression chamber where they will spend the next few days decompressing.

Each of the divers made more money in this operation than the Supreme Commander’s daily base pay.

ooooooo

Everyone leaves the beach and goes to the Ragnanyanyan restaurant, a Chinese-Ragnan fusion restaurant owned by Chuck’s family. While a rather popular place with locals, today it is closed for the memorial service of Messer Oilfield. The interior of the restaurant looks pretty much the same, with a wooden floor and wooden tables with tablecloths. Banners with Chinese writing are hanged on the walls. The smell of cooking drifts from the kitchen.

“Excuse me, uh, Mrs. Parsons,” says Arad Mulder. “It would be an honor if you were to sit with us in Messer’s place. Messer was family to us, which makes you and Shammy family to us as well.”

“Thank you,” she replies. She sits on a wooden chair next to where Mirage is already sitting.

Mirage introduces herself, and Kim introduces herself in return.

“Billy’s been so good to us,” says Kim. “He gave us a big house, we often travel across the galaxy. Sometimes he would bring us with him when he does business trips. We’ve been to Al Shahal, Glorie, Tirol, Earth, Space Station Harmony.”

“Yeah,” says Billy. “I’m the CEO of Epsilon. We’re actually a major contractor for Xaos.”

“Oh really?” asks Mirage. “I guess One Times Square would know about that.”

“Yeah, we’ve been to Times Square in New York once,” replies Kim. “Shammy and I spent most of the day touring; Billy had business there. We’re so lucky to have him. How did you become part of Delta Team?”

“I had some training at the Academy on Earth. I had been flying since I was little. I was actually a pilot for Xaos after graduating college. Arad Mulder recruited me about three years ago.”

“How is it?”

“Well, I..It is more fulfilling work, since I’m protecting Walkure while they sing to treat people with Var. And being a veritech pilot does pay much better than being a shuttle pilot.”

Food is served.

Traditional Chinese dishes such as chow mein, chow fun, sizzling rice soup, and fried duck are served. Some Ragnan dishes are served. And then there are of course Chinese dishes served with jellyfish.

“Attention,” says Ernest Johnson, standing in the back of the restaurant, near the bar. “I would like to read from Messer’s own words, from his essay for his Air Force ROTC scholarship application.

“I want to be a hero. I had no living role models growing up. All I had were stories, stories of people who risked all to do what was right. It is so tempting to do the wrong thing, to look the other way, but it is the courage of these heroes that made our society possible.

“Many heroes have had to give all, to further what was right. I do not wish for anyone to have to give all, but if I am called to give all, I can only hope I have the fortitude to do so, to be a hero.”

Freyja starts clapping, and soon the whole room starts clapping.

Kim walks up to the huge green-skinned man in a whit-collared shirt and shorts. “Thank you,” she says to Ernest.

After that, the meal continues. Many of the first timers here, like Steve Sterling and Billy Ray Diamond and Ken Chae, all savor the bite of each piece of Ragnan jellyfish.

Soon, many of the grown-ups gather at the bar.

“So you were stranded on Earth for thirteen years,” Johnny says to Steve.

“Yeah,” replies Steve. “My evacuation shuttle was shot down. I stayed with a family friend, Jack Emerson. Eventually, I enlisted in an Ocean Patrol unit. I became a Bullfrog.”

“Bullfrog?” asks Billy. “What is that?”

“Ocean patrol commandos,” replies Steve. “We go behind enemy lines and do commando stuff like sabotage and supply raids. I was at the Battle of Reflex Point.”

“I missed that battle,” says Johnny. “I was stranded aboard the SDF-3 at the time. Ernie- Captain Johnson- was there too.”

“We should all be lucky we’re still alive,” says Steve.

“How did you meet Kim?” Johnny asks Billy.

“Ya know, being a divorced billionaire, I could ‘ave had a supermodel,” answers Billy. “But I was on this web site, and I met Kim. She was a strugglin’ single mother who had been raising her little girl alone for ten years. We had our first date at this diner she worked. Food was good, even though it wasn’t the high class restaurant I’m used to. Well, now I have the perfect companion.”

“Wow,” says Steve. “I mean, my parents’ first date, Mom tried to kill Dad.”

“That must have been quite a story,” says Johnny.

“Well, your parents obviously made up,” adds Billy.

Elsewhere in the room, Hayate speaks with Shammy.

“So you’re Messer’s sister,” he says. “I’m Hayate, one of his pilots.”

“So many people loved my brother,” says Shammy.

“I think he wanted to be my friend,” says Hayate. “But he couldn’t; he had to stay professional. Lives were on the line- the lives of Walkure, the lives of the people infected with Var. It..it was the right thing to do.”

“Right thing to do.”

“Your brother gave all. I don’t want to give all, but I hope I can if I am called upon to do that.”

“I hear you fly with Mirage,” says a green-haired girl who looks about Shammy’s age.

Hayate looks and sees another green-haired girl looking identical to her.

“I’m Ashley and she’s Amber,” says the girl. “We’re Mirage’s younger identical twin sisters.

“Nice to meet you,” says Hayate. “I’m Hayate.”

“I’m Freyja,” says Freyja, looking at the two girls. “I’m Mirage’s roommate.”

“And who do we have here?” asks Makina Nakajima.

The Sterling twins introduce themselves.

“I’m Makina of the Super Dimension Walkure,” she says. “You can call me Maki-Maki.”

“Hi,” the twins say, looking at the young woman, who has purple-tinted red hair tied in two huge pigtails, wearing a sleeveless lavender blouse.

“Nice to meet you, Am-Am and Ash-Ash.”

The two girls look at each other.

“And you must be Mesa-Mesa’s sister, Sham-Sham,” says Makina.

“Uh, yeah,” replies Shammy. “I don’t remember him’ only seen pictures. Mom said he had a difficult childhood. He wouldn’t follow rules. I guess he was just going through adolescence.”

“Messer as a delinquent,” says Hayate. “I could never imagine that.”

A short, stout, tan-skinned man in a chef’s hat walks out to the main dining area of Ragnanyannyan.

“Attention, everyone,” says Max Mustang, the owner and head Chef. “I hope you enjoyed your meal in memory of Messer Oilfield. Please thank our wonderful kitchen staff.”

Most of the plates are empty now.

“Oh, hi, there, Mrs. Parsons,” Kaname says to Kim.

“Hi there,” says Kim. “Kaname, isn’t it.”

“I worked closely with your son.”

“It’s nice to see so many looked up to him.”

“I have a question. Messer sought custody of Shammy.”

Kim stays silent for a few seconds. “I don’t know much about that.”

“I was able to view the court records.”

“Family court records?” asks Kim. “Those are sealed.”

“Family court computer systems aren’t exactly the most secure systems in the world,” says Reina Prowler.

“So you’ve heard what he said about me in those court filings,” says Kim.

“Yes,” replies Kaname.

“I suppose he really wasn’t lying,” says Messer’s mother. “After nearly a decade, he probably convinced himself it was all true.” She wipes an eye with a white cloth napkin. “Messer had a difficult childhood growing up. I hardly had time to raise him. He was entering adolescence when I married Shammy’s father. He was being difficult, refusing to acknowledge Shammy’s father as his own. He would skip school, engage in theft and vandalism, getting into fights. He resisted attempts at discipline.

“Then, twelve years ago, Shammy’s father walked out on us, the way Messer’s father walked out on me before he was born. After that, we were in an argument, and Messer just stormed off! I reported him to the police, but they couldn’t find him. Even while I was focused on raising Shammy by myself, I still wondered where Messer was. I dreaded the moment the police would visit and tell me he’s in jail- or in a morgue.”

“I see,” says Kaname.

“But to see this now, it’s so…it’s so heartwarming. Messer became a good man. I…I failed him as a mother. I wish I could have met him as the man he grew up to be.”

“I’m sleepy,” says Billy. “I say we take Shammy back to the condo.”

“There is one thing I would like to share before you go, Mrs. Parsons,” says Kaname.

She has a bracelet on her left hand.

She presses a button

Kim sees a holographic display of a video.

Of her.

Of her beating Messer.

“Where did you get this?” she asks.

“Downloaded from the family court web site,” says Reina. “Messer had a hidden camera in his room. He took it with him, kept it on him all this time.”

Kim frowns. “You want to know why he ran away, why I was beating him?” she asks.

“What could justify a mother beating her son like that?” asks Kaname.

“He was abusing Shammy!” yells Kim. “He was molesting her! Molesting a baby! I saw him with his pants down his ankles, and…”

“Shut up!” yells Shammy. “That’s a lie!” She wipes her face, revealing a purple bruise on the right side.

She then lifts up her blouse.

Everyone can see the slight bulge in her belly.

“I’m pregnant,” she says. “Billy Ray Diamond is the father.”

“That’s impossible!” yells Billy. “I use a condom…” He pauses, realizes what he just said. “Well, most of the time, anyways.”

“You little slut!” Kim yells at Shammy. “How could you do this to your own mother?”

“you did this! After he…you told me I had to let him do this so we could stay with him!”

Hayate stands up, looking directly at Kim. “You,” says the teen, “you whored out your own child! You whored out Shammy just so you can live with a rich man! Messer was right to run away from you. You have no son!”

Kim grabs Mirage’s chair, lifting it up from right under her, causing her to fall. She lifts it high above her head, ready to strike at Hayate.

A crash is heard.

Ronald Wright Immelman is on top of her, placing his knee into her abdomen.

“You do **not** attack my son or his friends,” he says in a menacing tone.

Billy starts walking towards them “Hey, you…,” he starts.

Barney stands and holds up something.

Everyone in the room can see it’s a badge. Ron immediately gets up.

“Oh, Officer,” says Kim. “Thank you. This man just attacked me. I think he was trying to grope me. Who knows…”

“It’s okay, ma’am,” says Barney, holding up his hand. “It’s okay. I saw and heard everything.”

“Thank you.”

“And you’re under arrest, _bitch_!”

Barney lifts up Kim and slaps on some handcuffs.

“I’ll sue!” yells Billy. “I’ll make sure you lose your badge. I’ll sue everyone in this restaurant. Not only will I own this restaurant when I’m done, I’ll make sure none of you get a job again.”

“It’ll be hard to do from a jail cell,” says Ernest. Billy looks at the giant green man towering over him.

Barney gives a thumbs up.

“I’ve been deputized by the Baretteburg Police Department to arrest you,” says Ernest.

Steve walks towards Kim, his face very close to her.

“You being under arrest is the only reason I have decided to not break your neck,” he says to her.

“Excuse me,” says Max, with his wife and three of his children sitting behind him. “Can you please get these vermin out of my restaurant?”

“Yes, sir,” replies Barney. He and Ernest escort Billy Ray Diamond and Kim Oilfield Parsons outside.

Oooooooo

Not long afterwards, Freyja sits on the pier, her shins and feet dangled above the salty water. She can still see the glow of the jellyfish. The only noise is that of small waves crashing on the nearby beach.

“What’s up?” asks Hayate.

“It’s about Messer,” she replies. “I just can’t believe what had happened to him.”

“It’s far too common,” says Hayate. “I’ve heard stories about these things.”

“I know I ran away from home to live the life that I want,” says Freyja. “But they still love me. I still love them. But to think that woman would do such things to the child she gave birth to. That she would let men use her child just so she can live the lifestyle of the rich.”

“Well, your family tried to marry you off when you were what, sixteen?”

“It is typical for noble children. My own father was married when he was fifteen. He and Mother had my oldest brother- the current Lord Wion- when Father was seventeen.”

“Oh yeah, sometimes I forget you’re from nobility and aristocracy.”

“Those concepts must sound archaic to Earth people.”

“Not really,” says Hayate. “Egypt started having Pharaohs again about thirty-five years ago.”

“I guess so,” says Freyja. She knew what Earth was, and its history during the Robotech Wars, but not about specific places like Egypt. “Anyway, we did save Messer’s sister. He gave all for us; exposing his mother, exposing what happened to Shammy, it was the least we could do for him.”

“Yeah,” says Hayate.

“Messer always felt guilty about leaving Shammy behind,” says Kaname, walking on the pier. “He was only thirteen then, though. He couldn’t take care of a toddler by himself. He sought custody about seven years later, but because he was mentally hospitalized, he lost. He considered it his greatest failure.”

“Then I won’t back down,” says Freyja. “I won’t leave anyone behind.”


	14. Chapter 14

Shammy Parsons wakes up. She immediately notices that the room looks unfamiliar. All she sees id a bed, a laptop computer, and some books. The floor is made of wood, and walls are made of white plaster.

On a bedstand is a picture of a young man in his early twenties, wearing a blue uniform.

Messer!

She is in Messer’s bedroom, just above the Ragnanyannyan!

Memories of what happened last night rise in her mind.

She hears a knock on the door.

The young teen opens it. She sees a young woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, with black hair and brown skin. She wears a white sleeveless blouse and shorts. Shammy recognizes her from the memorial service.

“Good morning,” says the woman.

“Your name?” asks the girl.

“Marianne,” replies the woman. “I’m Chuck’s sister.”

“Oh,” says Shammy. “I know Chuck worked with my brother.”

“There’s breakfast in the family kitchen.”

“Good morning,” says Hayate, wearing a T-shirt and shorts. “Are you ready for my mom’s court appearance?”

“Do you really want to do this?” asks Marianne.

“I must,” says Shammy. “It’s a right thing to do.”

They go to the common kitchen for the apartment. There is a dining table, marble countertops, a refrigerator, stove, and pantry. Shammy has herself a quick breakfast of cereal and orange juice.

“Messer always had himself a quick breakfast,” says Zack Mustang, who looks like a miniature version of Chuck.

“He often go to work early,” says Liza Mustang, the youngest of the Mustang children.

“That makes sense,” says Hayate. “He was the XO, having to write up training plans.”

“Well, we’d better have a light breakfast,” says Max Mustang. “We’re evacuating.”

“Yeah,” says Chuck Mustang, taking in a spoonful; of sugary fruit-flavored crisp rice. “There’s a major military operation about four hundred klicks offshore. Can’t say much.”

“Of course,” says Mrs. Mustang.

“Well, I’d better get dressed,” says Hayate. “I’m not wearing this to the courthouse.”

Oooooooo

Assistant District Attorney Luke McKay straightens his necktie. Holding ab briefcase, he walks up the steps up the Barretteburg Superior Court in downtown Barretteburg. He had been an assistant district attorney for five years, ever since his honorable discharge from the United Nations army Judge Advocate General Corps. He developed a passion for prosecuting offenders.

This case is unlike any case he has prosecuted, as a celebrity singing band, the Super Dimension Venus Walkure, are witnesses.

But it also involved crimes against children.

He walks along a hallway and into one of the rooms, where people who had been held in police custody, along with their attorneys, meet with prosecutors. It is a plain looking room, with some wooden chairs and a wooden table.

He walks inside. He recognizes a bespectacled bald man wearing a blue vest, white collared shirt, red necktie, and black slacks. He also sees a man and woman, both with pale skin and brown hair, with the man’s hair a few shades lighter. The man easily towers over the other two people.

“Hi, Joe,” says the assistant district attorney. “You look pretty chipper.”

“Hi, Luke,” replies the bespectacled man. “These are my clients, Billy Ray Diamond and Kimberly Oilfield Parsons. Listen, I think we could have an expedited allocution.”

“I’m listening,” replies Luke.

“We both know Mrs. Parsons is not a habitual criminal, and the chances of her being sentenced to confinement are nil,” says the defense attorney. “And as for Mr. Diamond, he has not been accused of committing any crime on Ragna. He agrees to get on the first flight to Alfheim; he won’t be Ragna’s problem anymore.”

A khaki-uniformed bailiff enters the room. “You presentment is now,” she says.

They all walk along a hallway, approaching one of the courtrooms, connected to the hallway with double-doors. They enter.

The courtroom is typical, with seats for witnesses, the prosecution, and the defense. In the back are the judge’s bench and a witness stand. Many people are in the room, and uniformed bailiffs stand watch.

Kaname Buccaneer, wearing much more business-like clothing, glances at Kim Oilfield and Billy Ray Diamond, not forgetting what they looked like, not forgetting what she had heard.

The bailiff announces a number. Kaname sees Luke McKay approach the left table. He is a fair-skinned man with brown hair and brown sideburns. The assistant district attorney wears a white-collared shirt, blue necktie, and blue slacks.

“Kimberly Oilfield Parsons is charged with battery and attempted battery,” says McKay. “The State seeks deportation to Alfheim against Billy Ray Diamond for suspicion of lewd acts against a child there, for which he had yet to be charged. The State seeks remand, your Honor. Neither of the defendants are citizens or residents of Ragna, nor do they have significant connections here.”

“Defense counsel,” says the judge.

“Your Honor, I was hoping for an expedited allocution. My clients want to get on with their lives.”

“And that requires consent by the State, Counsel.”

“The State does not consent, ma’am,” says the assistant district attorney.

“Billy Diamond is remanded to custody pending deportation hearing,” says the judge. “Kimberly Parsons is remanded to custody pending arraignment. The State has three business days to file a formal criminal complaint.”

She bangs the gavel.

“What’s next?’ asks Shammy Parsons.

“I do have to file a formal complaint in three business days, not merely telling the judge why your mother was arrested,” says McKay. “I should be able to do that.”

“But we have an evacuation going on,” says Mirage Sterling. “Will that delay?”

“Maybe. Depends on what the Court does.”

Mirage sees the huge form of Captain Ernest Johnson as soon as she turns her head towards the doors.

“I knew I would find you all here,” says the captain. “We had better prepare for evacuation support operations.”

“Yes, sir,” says Wing commander Arad Mulder.

“I’d better take you back to the restaurant,” Flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang says to Shammy.

“Actually, I would like to go with you,” says the teenage girl. “I mean, you were like Messer’s family.”

“We’ll need our wing commander’s permission.”

“And you have it,” replies the wing commander. “Messer still has his old quarters on the _Aether_. You can ride with us.”

“This will be great,” says Freyja Wion. “Just don’t touch anything.”

“Okay,” replies Shammy.

Oooooooo

Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka, wearing her MARPAT camouflage, walks inside the command center inside Headquarters Military Assistance Command Brisingr Globular Cluster. The command center looks like a typical command center, with a main seventy-two inch screen and several consoles where officers and enlistees examine data taken from various sources all over the Cluster.

“How is the evacuation going?” asks the general.

“Going well,” replies an Army colonel. “Traffic on the freeways is moving smoothly, especially since the locals reversed the lanes.

“How much time until the alarm goes off?”

“Eighteen hours,” says a Spacy commander.

Obrycka looks at readout on the main screen, counting down.

Oooooooooo

Dr. Naomi Singh hugs her three children.

“Mommy has to go,” she says, sitting in the driveway. “I have to be with Walkure when we assist with the evacuation.”

“And Daddy will be at downtown Barretteburg to help with the computer systems,” says Barry Wu. “I am a software engineer, you know.” He looks at the three children. “I want you all to mind grandma. Think of it as a mini-vacation away from home.”

Barry, Naomi’s mother, and the kids all go inside a light blue Toyota Sienna van. Barry starts the engine and backs out of the driveway. Naomi in turns gets into her car and also drives off, towards the Xaos Airfield where the _Elysion_ awaits.

Ooooooooo

“And this is Messer’s room,” says Flying Officer Mirage Sterling.

Shammy Parsons has had a brief tour of the _Elysion_ and the _Aether_. Those ships were huge that Side-A-Vators4™ were needed to get around in any reasonable amount of time. Most of the walls and floors- or decks and bulkheads- are made of some kind of metal.

She looks into her late brother’s quarters. It is a small room, with a bunk built into the wall, a desk, and a chair. There is another door inside, probably to a private bathroom.

“We have a rec room, a break room, and a cafeteria here as well as in the _Elysion_ ,” says Mirage. “We sometimes live on board for days in a row.”

“Are we going up into space?” asks Shammy.

“We’re supposed to leave four hours before the alarms goes off. _Aether_ and _Leonard_ will separate from the _Elysion_ , allowing us to cover each other with our cannons in case something goes wrong.”

“My whole life has been wrong.”

“I’d better get going.”

Shammy goes inside the room, lying down on the bunk where Messer had used to sleep. It felt quite comfortable; Xaos sure splurged on its employees.

She once again reflects on what happened to her.

She can still remember that first time with Billy Ray Diamond.

She remembers being pinned to the bed.

She remembers him peeling off her clothes.

She remembers him tearing her panties off her legs, exposing for the first time the most intimate part of her young body.

She remembers the pain she felt when he first forced himself inside her, taking away her virginity.

She remembers the disgust she felt when his sperm was ejaculated into her young womb.

She remembers crying in shame.

She remembers feeling dirty inside and outside.

She remembers being held by her mother.

She remembers her mother telling her to accept it, that Billy was taking care of them, that he was providing them with all the things they have been deprived for nearly a decade.

_“If you tell anyone, we’ll lose everything,” she said._

She remembers her mother, after that first time, making her sit in front of the mirror, legs wide spread, her freshly deflowered vulva in full view.

_“That’s the opening to your vagina,” said her mother. “You still have you vagina, don’t you? He’s giving us the best house, the best clothes, the best education, the best of everything, in exchange for him sticking it inside. We get so much for so little.”_

She recalls more rapes.

She recalls often waking up with her vagina sore.

She recalls when she found out she is pregnant.

Pregnant at only fourteen years old!

She places her hand on her slightly-bulging belly.

The shadow of the past few years still covers her.

She falls asleep.

Soon her mind enters a dreamscape.

There are so many different, disjointed events.

She gets up.

The door opens.

She sees a silhouette at the door to Messer’s quarters.

“Messer?” she asks. “Arad? Hayate?”

The figure steps in, revealing himself to be Billy Ray Diamond.

Shammy wakes up.

“The _Elysion_ will prepare for litftoff,” she hears a female voice say. “All personnel, strap yourselves in.

She walks out into the hallway. She sees Arad Mulder walking around.

“What’s going on?” asks the girl.

“We’re taking off,” replies Delta Team’s wing commander. “The alarm goes off in just over four hours. Just strap yourself in somewhere that has a seat belt.”

Shammy goes back into Messer’s room. She lies down on the bed, fastening the seat belts.

Ooooooo

Inside the huge bridge of the _Elysion_ , Captain Ernest Johnson makes sure that he is strapped into his own seat.

He looks at a timer, counting down from just above four hours.

“All systems green,” says Jennifer Ramos, an officer sitting at one of the consoles.

“Air traffic is clear,” says Nina O’Toole, another officer.

“Are you ready?” Johnson asks Captain Ken Chae, whose face appears as a hologram.

“The ship is ready,” replies Chae, who is on board the Leonard, which is docked to the portside of the _Elysion_.

“Liftoff,” says the _Elysion_ captain.

So the _Elysion_ , with the _Aether_ and _Leonard_ docked, lifts off from the Xaos Ragna Airfield and into the Ragna night sky, about four hours before the sun rises in Barretteburg. The ship travels nearly vertically, accelerating just faster than gravity. The atmosphere gets thinner and thinner, and soon the _Elysion_ is in a near vacuum.

“We have achieved orbit,” says Beth Morton. “Eight hundred klicks above the surface.”

“Initiate separation of _Aether_ and _Leonard_ ,” says Johnson.

“Yes, sir.”

“All hard lines disconnected.”

“Hatches are sealed.”

“Docking clamps released.”

And so the two ships that had been joined to the _Elysion_ undock. They then accelerate slightly, until they are at least a mile from each other, orbiting about five hundred miles above the Ragnan surface, which is dark below, except lights from towns, cities, and highways.

After the separation is confirmed, Wing Commander Arad Mulder climbs into the cockpit of his VF-31 Siegfried veritech fighter. He waves at Greaser the mechanic before his robotech war machine is lifted onto the _Aether’s_ flight deck.

For a moment he reflects on Messer’s absence, knowing that his right hand is not coming back.

“Islander to Air Boss,” he says. “Ready for takeoff.”

“Copy, Islander,” says the _Aether_ air boss. “You are clear for takeoff.”

Mulder pushes the throttle forward, and his veritech is launched out.

Meanwhile, on the flight deck of the _Leonard_ , Lieutenant Commander Roy Yamada prepares for his takeoff.

“This is Rouge Leader,” he says. “Ready for takeoff.”

“Copy, Rouge Leader,” says the _Leonard_ air boss. “You are clear.”

The commander pushes the throttle forward and his own VF-31 Siegfried launches from the _Ikazuchi_ -class carrier.

The support flotilla stands by, composed of carriers, cruisers, gunships, and scout ships, with the SDF-4 _Liberator_ as the flagship.

Captain Johnson and the other captains on board the other ships look at their respective timers.

There is just a little over three hours until the alarm goes off. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Windermereans try to take the Robotech Masters ruins on Planet Ragna. Will the U.N. manage to destroy the ruins before they do so?

Inside the Secretary General’s Palace in Galaxy City, Secretary General Siddhartha Tiwari walks along a red-carpeted hallway.

He walks through a pair of open finely-carved wooden double doors. He enters what is called the Situation Room, allowing him to monitor events anywhere in this Milky Way Galaxy. Inside, several civilians and United Earth Forces officers are already inside, standing around a wooden table with a glass top. The Secretary General recognizes his Chief of Staff, Tom Murphy, the Galactic Security Advisor Marie Crystal, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Yusuf Obegwo, among others.

A holographic display of a timer is projected in the room.

Tiwari looks. The timer is at 56:44.16.

It is less than an hour until the hydrogen bomb detonates.

It had been a long time since a United Nations Secretary General authorized the use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Oooooooo

Underneath the main level of downtown Barretteburg is a control room with all sorts of consoles and screens. People in gray overalls man the consoles.

“All systems ready,” says one of them.

The Mayor of Barretteburg waits. She had spent the past few weeks attending Civil Defense briefings, learning about contingencies.

She never imagined this.

Sher looks at the timer.

There is less than an hour left.

“Let’s do it,” she says.

“Activating counter-gravity pods,” says a gray-uniformed woman with auburn hair.

The counter-gravity pods light up, stretching the very space-time beneath them.

Elsewhere, in an observation park that has a nice view of mainland Barretteburg, Barry Wu watches with his three children; he holds his four-year-old son.

He and his two daughters feel heavier.

Downtown is rising.

The mainland neighborhoods appear smaller and smaller.

“Daddy told you would see something cool,” he says.

He wonders if Naomi would be safe.

Oooooooo

Admiral Scott Bernard looks at the timer. There is a little less than thirty minutes until the alarm goes off.

“We have multiple defolds detected,” says a U.N. Spacy commander. “It is a flotilla from the Windies!”

“We need to hold them off for one hour,” replies the Supreme Commander, glancing at the timer.

Already, the allied gunships open fire on the Windermerean Royal Space Force ships. The fighters already deployed move to attack their enemies, and more fighters are launched from the _Hunter_ -class and _Ikazuchi_ -class carriers.

“It looks like the party is starting,” says Mulder, already seeing explosions from the space battle above Ragna.

“Delta Team, maintain protection of _Aether_ ,” says Captain Johnson. “We may need Walkure in case the Windies sing.”

“Copy,” replies the Delta Team wing commander.

“A detachment of Windy fighters are approaching,” says Commander Yamada. “Rouge Squadron, intercept!”

And soon the veritechs from Rouge Squadron fly in to intercept the Windermerean fighters.

Yamada closes in one an enemy aerospace fighter.

His targeting system is locked.

The commander pulls the trigger.

His veritech fired its dorsal cannon, and less than a second later, the Windermere Royal Space Force fighter explodes in a fireball.

“One Windy dispersed,” says Rouge Leader.

A few dozen miles away, Hayate likewise closes in on an enemy fighter, with Flying Officer Sterling covering him.

Utilizing skills honed by Messer’s harsh training, he lines up his target.

He squeezes the trigger.

Cannon fire hits the Windermerean ship.

A trail of smoke emerges from the crippled fighter, which is on a hyperbolic orbit away from Ragna.

“You owe Messer big time,” the pilot officer whispers to the spared enemy pilot.

Hayate may have to kill, but every enemy pilot spared is worth it.

Very few of them deserve death as much as Kimberly Oilfield Parsons or Billy Ray Diamond.

Oooo

The battle rages on, as the United Earth Forces try to keep Windermere from stopping the alarm clock. Already, the UEF reinforcements that had been awaiting at an Oort cloud sixty thousand AU away had already folded in.

It is then that there are more defolds.

These are very big defolds; the gravitational waves actually shaking the ships.

“More defolds,” says a Space Marine major inside the command center of the Liberator. “We detect a ship, twenty klicks across!”

“The flagship,” says Admiral Bernard.

The timer is just above twenty minutes.

  
ooooooo

Keith Aero Windermere is inside his SV-262 Draken veritech fighter. He presses buttons and flips switches as he looks at his instrument panel for anything that would require him to abort his launch.

All indicators are green.

A mechanic in a spacesuit waves at him.

“White Knight to Air Boss,” he says. “Ready to launch.”

“Standby,” says the _Sigur Valens_ Air Boss.

“Copy,” replies Keith. He looks carefully at his instruments as he awaits clearance.

“Air Boss to White Knight, you are clear to take off.”

“Copy,” replies the fighter pilot. “White Knight, taking off!”

He pushes the throttle.

His Draken launches from the flight deck of the _Sigur Valens_.

Soon, all of the Aerial Knights are deployed, about six hundred miles above the Ragnan surface.

“Old Knight to all Knights,” says Master Herman Kross. “We defend Space Force One until the Wind sings.”

Inside the _Sigur Valens_ command center, King Gramis Nerich Windermere sits down.

“Your Majesty, sirs, ma’ams, we are descending to the target area as planned,” says a Space Force officer. “Pinpoint barrier shields are online.”

“Good,” replies the king. “Keep us updated.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The Windermerean flagship descends into the Ragnan atmosphere; the pinpoint barriers dissipating the frictional heat, as well as protecting the flagship from enemy fire.

The bridge crew keep an extra special eye on the instruments and gauges and monitors, knowing how important this mission is.

There is no room for complacency.

“Old Knight to all Knights,” says Kross. “Enemy fighters heading our way.”

“And I thought this would be boring,” replies Bogue Con-Vaart.

“You have several fighters, Zentraedi Gnerl fighter pods,” says a combat air controller from the _Sigur Valens_.

The Aerial Knights all know of the Zentraedi, a rather prominent member state of the United Nations.

The Aerial Knights get ready.

They dodge the missile and cannon fire from the Zentraedi fighters.

The enemy fighters get within range.

Bogue lines up his targeting system with one of the green fighter pods.

He fires a missile, and it strike at the dead center of the three main thrusters.

The Zentraedi fighter pod explodes in a fireball.

“Scratch one,” he says.

The Aerial Knights continue their dance with the Zentraedi spacecraft.

One of the Zentraedi has Bogue in his sights.

“I got you now, Windy infidel,” says the Zentraedi pilot. “Allahu ak-“

The fighter pod explodes.

“Watch yourself, Blood Knight,” says Qasim Eberhart.

“Thanks, Apple Knight,” replies Bogue.

Two more Zentraedi fighters are blown up, and the three remaining bug out.

“We maintain our protection of Space Force One,” says Master Kross.

Ooooooooo

The command staff in the SDF-4 watches the battle above Ragna.

“Flagship is heading to alarm clock,” says an Ocean Patrol commander.

“We must stop the flagship,” says the Supreme Commander.

Ooo

The _Aether_ descends into the Ragnan atmosphere; the omnidirectional barrier system dissipating the frictional heat, with Delta Team providing cover.

“Keep the _Aether_ covered,” Wing Commander Mulder reminds the other three in his team.

Dr. Naomi Singh is inside the observation deck in the _Aether_ , with Shammy Parsons accompanying her. Together, they watch as the Super Dimension Venus Walkure prepares to sing.

“So this is what they do,” says Messer’s younger half-sister.

“Correct,” replies the Health Corps commander.

“Okay, girls, let’s do it,” says Kaname Buccaneer.

Mikumo Guynemer starts singing.

_I feel in love staring into your eyes_

_I became obsessed and chased after you_

_I can’t stop yet, I want to know more_

_The more I wish, the more I wonder_

Ooooooo

“Bio fold waves detected,” says a Space Force officer inside the _Sigur Valens_ fleet command center.

“It must be Walkure,” says Chancellor Roid Brehm.

“Their wind is tainted,” says King Gramis.

Oooo

“They’re singing,” says Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman.

“We’d better keep them covered,” says Wing Commander Mulder.

“Bandits heading our way,” says Flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang.

“The White Knight,” says Hayate.

“Evasive maneuvers,” says the Delta Team leader. “I’ll distract the White Knight.”

The Aerial Knights release their drones, which attack Delta Team’s Siegfrieds.

One of them tries to go behind the wing commander.

It is promptly destroyed.

“Thanks, Buckeye,” Mulder says to Sterling.

Then the flying officer herself is chased by another Windermerean drone. She tries to evade, but can not break free.

Then she sees the blip disappear from her radar.

“This is Slacker,” says Hayate. “Stop hesitating and fly the way you want to.”

“It’s not that easy, Slacker,” replies Sterling.

Meanwhile, thirty miles above them, Rouge Squadron is dealing with another squadron that launched from the Windermerean flagship.

“We have to keep them from Delta Team,” says Commander Yamada.

“They must be keeping us away from the Aerial Knights,” says First Lieutenant Michael DiNozzo, blowing up an enemy fighter.

“I got you covered,” says Second Lieutenant Ann Campbell.

Ooooo

Captain Johnson continues to receive status updates on the battle.

He looks at the timer.

There is less than a minute until the alarm goes off.

And he sees that Delta Team is too close to the alarm clock.

“Delta Team, this is Tour Bus!” he yells. “You’re too close to the alarm clock! Bug out now!”

“Yes, sir!” yells Wing Commander Arad Mulder.

Johnson sees the last seconds count down.

Ooooooooo

Inside the SDF-4 _Liberator_ command center, Admiral Bernard sees the timer count down to zero.

He focuses his ears, waiting for news- any news- from his command staff on board.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bomb goes off under the waters of Planet Ragna. Were the Robotech Masters' ruins destroyed?

A mile under the ocean on Planet Ragna, just two hundred fifty miles from where downtown Barretteburg had been docked, a red light-emitting diode display counts down to 00:00:00.00.

An electric charge is sent to several pounds of C4 plastic explosive.

The plastic turns to high pressure gas, which expands.

The gas pushes pieces of a sphere of plutonium together. This creates a super-critical mass. Nuclei are split, releasing neutrons.

The binding energy is turned into radiation and heat, turning the plutonium into hot expanding plasma.

The heat and pressure is enough to smash the nuclei inside an ionic lattice of lithium deuteride, fusing them into helium-4 nuclei, and releasing even more heat and radiation.

This, in turn, initiates fission in a jacket of 99% pure uranium-2325 metal, which triggers fission of a surrounding layer of lithium deuteride, which then triggers fission in the outermost jacket of uranium-235.

Oooo

Secretary General Siddhartha Tiwari, Chief of Staff Tom Murphy, Galactic Security Advisor Marie Crystal, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Yusuf Obegwo had seen the timer count down to zero.

Their hearts race rapidly.

Ooooo

“Bug out!” yells Wing Commander Arad Mulder.

Pilot Officer Hayate Immelman presses his throttle to the max. The sky looks brighter than it should for very early morning.

A spheroid of ash and dust emerges from the Ragnan ocean.

He feels his plane shake.

The very edge of the shockwave had caught up to him.

His Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried is starting to break up.

He has once chance to stay alive.

He hopes to meet Messer again, but not today.

He opens a panel and pushes a red button.

Suddenly, a helmet is placed on his head.

Something attaches to the flight armor that he wears.

The Siegfried’s ejection system detonates plastic explosives, which blow out the canopy.

It then activates thrusters in the chair.

Hayate Immelman flies out of the plane.

He can feel the wind.

He can hear the wind screaming.

He does not look behind him.

The wings of his EX-Gear system break off.

Flying Officer Mirage Sterling sees this.

There is one chance.

She swoops in, transforming her veritech to guardian mode.

She extends the right arm, opening the palm of the robotic right hand.

She manages to grab Hayate.

He opens his eyes, seeing the purple-trimmed veritech flown by Sterling.

“Buckeye to Clown Car,” she says. “I have Slacker and am returning him to deck.”

“Roger that,” replies a first mate on board the _Aether_.

She soon lands on the flight deck of the carrier.

“Hayate!” calls out Freyja Wion.

Flying Officer Sterling gets off her plane and holds Hayate, still sitting on the right hand of her Siegfried.

“Slacker!” yells the Flying Officer. “Hayate! Snap out of it!”

He opens his eyes.

“Are you nuts?” he asks. “You.. You could have died.”

“I’m your instructor,” she replies. “I’m not going to let my student die.”

He gives her a big hug.

Freyja’s jaw drops; the singer feels alarmed.

“Thanks, Instructor,” says Hayate.

Oooooooooo

A holographic image of Admiral Scott Bernard appears inside the Secretary General’s Palace Situation room.

“Your Excellency,” says the Supreme Commander. “We have confirmed that the alarm went off.”

Secretary General Tiwari takes a deep breath. “Have the ruins been destroyed?” he asks.

“We are in the process of confirming, sir,” replies Bernard.

Oooooooo

Keith Aero Windermere looks at the scene miles below him.

He can see the ash and dust and steam from the explosion forming a giant mushroom shape.

“Everyone all right?” asks the Aerial Knight.

“Yeah,” answers Theo Jussila, still shocked by what he had witnessed.

ooooooo

“Bridge reports that the ship is fully functional,” says a Space Force officer inside the _Sigur Valens_ fleet command center.

“One of our escort gunships is down, sir,” says a crewman.

“Tell all ships to maintain position,” says Chancellor Roid Brehm, adjusting his eyeglasses.

“Yes, sir.”

King Gramis Nerich Windermere just looks at the screen, not saying a word.

Oooooooooo

Flying Officer Sterling climbs back into the cockpit of her VF-31 Siegfried. She glances at her instruments.

“Buckeye to Delta Team, Slacker is back on board the Clown Car,” says Sterling.

“Copy,” replies Wing Commander Mulder. “Islander to Buckeye, return to the air; we are resuming protection of the Clown Car.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hayate watches as the leg thrusters lift the robotech war machine into the air.

Ooooooooo

“There seems to be an anomaly,” says an Air Force colonel sitting at a console inside the SDF-4 fleet command center.

“What is it, ma’am?” asks Major Larry Marin.

The colonel turns around. “The explosion seems to be weaker than expected.”

“We may not have had a full detonation,” replies the major. “Or the ruins were so strongly built they absorbed a significant fraction of the explosive energy.”

“We have a message from the scout ship _Gagarin_ ,” says a Spacy lieutenant commander.

“Patch her through,” commands Admiral Bernard.

“Yes, sir.”

“There’s gravitational waves coming from the site of the blast,” says the captain of the U.N. Spacy scout ship _Yuri Gagarin_.

More adrenaline courses through Bernard’s veins.

Ooooooo

Inside the observation deck of the _Aether_ , Kaname can see the readout of fold waves coming from the area.

“Ladies, this looks really bad,” she says.

ooooooooo

Inside the fleet command center of the _Sigur Valens_ , the command staff already detected the gravitational waves.

“The ruins are still there,” says King Gramis. “Open a channel to my son!”

“At once, sire,” replies a communications officer even as she is pressing buttons on a control screen.

A holographic image of Crown Prince Heinz Nerich Windermere, wearing a crown and dressed in his white cloak, appears.

“Sing the Song of the Wind,” commands his father.

“Yes, your Majesty,” replies the Prince. “I can sense the power.”

“Tell the radio shack to begin data linkage,” Chancellor Brehm says to the command staff.

“Truly, the Masters knew how to build miracles,” says the Marshal of the Royal Space Force.

“In the name of the True King,” says Gramis. “Rudanjal Rom Mayan.”

“Rudanjal Rom Mayan!” replies Heinz, placing his fist over his heart.

The boy starts singing, and fold waves are radiated from the Robotech Masters ruins, penetrating spacetime itself.

Ooooooo

Freyja can feel the song.

“The Song of the Wind,” she says. “It’s stronger than before!”

“Will our song be enough?” asks Mikumo.

Oooooo

“I can hear Prince Heinz,” says Xao Jussila, one of the Aerial Knights.

“Stay focused,” says Master Kross.

“Yes, sir,” replies Qasim Eberhart.

Ooooo

Some of the U.N.-allied fighter pilots start feeling as if they are losing themselves; the veins on their face bulging.

Ooooooo

“Fold waves are off the charts!” exclaims an Army major inside the fleet command center of the Liberator.

“We’re detecting Var outbreaks!” yells a Space Marine lieutenant colonel.

Oooooooo

Heinz continues singing the Song of the Wind.

The modules making up the _Sigur Valens_ shift around.

Inside the command center of Military Assistance Command- Brisingr Globular Cluster, Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka and her staff can feel Var rising.

As do many people inside downtown Barretteburg, now flying five miles in the sky. Many of the people clutch their heads in an attempt to fight off Var.

Ooooooo

“Your Excellency, the ruins somehow survived the blast,” says Admiral Bernard, his hologram appearing in the Secretary General’s Palace Situation Room. “We are getting distress calls due to all the Var outbreaks.”

Everyone in the room glances at Secretary General Tiwari.

“The Windies have taken Ragna,” he says. “We must focus on evacuating as many civilians as we can, before Var fully overtakes them.”

“Yes, sir,” replies the Supreme Commander.

Ooooo

“New orders, Delta Team,” says Captain Ernest Johnson. “You are to cover the evacuation efforts. The swim coach has ordered an evacuation. Walkure will sing to suppress the Var as long as possible.”

“Islander to tour Bus, change of orders acknowledged,” replies Wing Commander Mulder.

He looks at his radar screen.

There are no bandits in range.

The wing commander knows it will not stay true for long.

Oooooo

Hayate, too, received the message.

He walks to the glass pyramid of Aether’s observation deck.

“Time for me to go,” he says to Freyja. “I’ll cover you.”

“But that explosion destroyed your plane,” replies Freyja.

“We have a spare.”

Ooooooooooo

Hayate reads the name stenciled under the canopy of the baclk-0truimmed Stonewell Bellcom VF-31 Siegfried.

**S/L MESSER OILFIELD “DRILLER”**

He climbs up into the cockpit.

“I spent eight hours fixin’ that thing,” says the mechanic Greaser, in his squeaky high-pitched voice. “Make sure to give the Windies a good drubbin’.”

“Sure thing, Greaser,” replies Hayate.

The canopy closes.

He checks all instruments and gauges.

Everything about the plane is fine.

He is lifted onto the _Aether’s_ flight deck.

“Slacker to Air Boss, ready for takeoff,” he says, looking forward at the blue sky.

“Air Boss to Slacker, you are clear,” says the _Aether_ air boss.

“I’m borrowing her,” Hayate whispers.

He pushes the throttle.

The catapult launches the veritech off the flight deck.

“Slacker is in the air!” he yells.

“We need all the help we can get,” says Flight Lieutenant Chuck Mustang.

Walkure starts singing another song.

_Kiss, Kiss Feel Love_

_You can’t reach the future if you never take off_

_Take me along to the end of space as you fly away_

_When I reach my hand out to you,_

_I hope you’re going to pick me_

The Var symptoms of the people inside downtown Barretteburg are suppressed; they feel as if they are returning to their normal selves. Many of them catch their breath.

Others wonder how long this respite will last.

Oooooo

“We detect several ships leaving the surface,” says a Space Force sergeant.

“Perhaps we should continue giving them incentives to retreat, my lord,” says the Marshal of the Royal Space Force. 

“Then the Aerial Knights shall target Walkure,” commands the king. “The other ships will fire towards the retreating vessels and their escorts, but are to maintain a protective screen around Space Force One; there will be no pursuit, nor will anyone block their escape.”

Gramis’s commands are relayed to the other Windermerean ships and vessels. Laser, canon, and missile fire are aimed at the general direction of the retreating shuttles as well as downtown Barretteburg.

Ooooo

“Islander to Delta Team, we are to engage the Aerial Knights,” Wing Commander Mulder says to his teammates.

“Rouge Leader to Delta Team, we’ll keep others from crashing your private party,” says Lieutenant Commander Roy Yamada.

“Thanks.”

And so the Delta Team veritechs fly to intercept the SV-262 Draken veritech fighters flown by the Aerial Knights of the Kingdom of the Wind. Missiles and laser beams are fired. The veritechs frequently shift modes between fighter and guardian and battloid.

Keith finds the enemy on his six and flies around to dodge.

He sees the Grim Reaper painted on the plane as the two of them make a pass. .

“You are not worthy of that plane,” he says to the pilot.

Hayate continues to chase after the White Knight.

“Chef to Slacker, Buckeye and I will chase pretty boy here together ,” he says.

“Thanks,” says Hayate.

The Draken flies wildly around, and none of the laser beams hit the veritech.

The plane then accelerates.

“We can’t let him get away!” yells Flying Officer Sterling.

They all accelerate upwards.

Warning noises come from the speakers inside the cockpits.

“He’s flying in this wind?” asks Hayate.

Keith suddenly accelerates even more, flying away from them fast.

And then they can hear the Song of the Wind.

Oooooo

“That song,” says Dr. Naomi Singh, looking at the scanner. “It’s overwhelming your music!”

Her words just confirm what the members of Walkure are already feeling.

The ruins are amplifying the Song, possibly in conjunction with the other ruins, like how are quiet conversation can be drowned out in a loud rock concert.

Oooo

“Slacker, he’s on your six!” yells Sterling.

Hayate moves around in the sky every which way in an attempt to deny the White Knight a direct hit. Even so, a few of the laser beams score glancing hits against the plane once flown by Messer Oilfield. “I can’t shake him,” he says.

“Bug out!” yells Mustang.

Not far from them, Bogue Con-Vaart flies right in, with the _Aether_ in front of him.

“You rotting apples!” he yells. “I’ll bury you all today!”

Walkure, along with Dr. Singh and Shammy Parsons, can see the enemy veritech flying towards them.

They take cover.

He opens fire.

The glass pyramid canopy is shattered.

“Freyja!” yells Hayate, as he sees the beam hit Aether’s observation deck.

Oooooo

“Enemy bio fold waves silenced!” yells a Space Force sergeant inside the Sigur Valens fleet command center.

“Radio shack reports that Space Force One is in sync with the ruins,” says an officer.

“Such is the power of the Robotech Masters at their height,” says Brehm.

“All ships are to fire on the enemy carrier,” says Gramis.

“Yes, my lord,” answers the Marshal of the Royal Space Force.

Oooooo

Freyja gets up, with Mikumo holding her.

She can see the Windermeran flagship, its main gun ready to fire.

And it fires a huge beam of hot high-energy plasma.

She and the others wonder if they are going to die.

The plasma beam is then intercepted by the _Elysion_.

The huge ship’s barrier system repels as much of the beam as it can.

And then it splashes right into the ocean, sending up a spray of water, and large waves rippling from the splashdown point.

“Captain Johnson,” whispers Kaname Buccaneer.

Oooooo

On board the bridge of the U.E.S. _Anatole Leonard_ , Captain Ken Chae witnesses this, hearing from one of the bridge officers.

“ _Elysion_ is down!” the captain had heard.

“Oh no,” he says softly. “Ernie.”

Oooooo

Freyja can see the explosions of the battle in the sky between the U.N. and Windermere.

She can sense Hayate being chased by that White Knight.

“My song,” she says. “My song has to reach him.”

Her heart races.

She hears distant explosions.

She sweats.

Adrenaline fills her very bloodstream.

She breathes rapidly.

“Piiikaaaa!” yells Freyja, jumping of the observation deck.

“Freyja,” says Makina.

“What is she thinking?” asks Mikumo.

And she starts singing, running across the _Aether’s_ flight deck.

_We’ve got only one shot at love_

_So let’s have fun inside you_

_Let’s share a selfish kiiissss!_

Freyja Wion leaps off the flight deck of the carrier, her outfit turning into a pimped-out dress, plunging down towards the ocean, the wind whipping up her light red hair.

_The petals of this flower fall in the wind._

_The stars are more than I count_

“Freyja,” says Sterling.

“She’s risking her life,” says Kaname.

“She wants her song to reach him,” says Mikumo.

_I could place all the blame on you_

_Swallowing back my tears_

_But I can’t tell anyone about how my heart races_

Inside downtown Barretteburg, the crowd on the streets look at wonder as Freyja falls.

The people inside the fleet command center of the SDF-4 also look in wonder.

“What is that girl doing?” asks Admiral Bernard.

“Looks like she jumped of a carrier eight klicks above the ocean without as parachute, sir,” answers Major Marin.

The other Walkure singers provide as much backup vocals as they can.

Inside the black-trimmed Siegfried, Hayate can feel the song.

He looks above and sees a distant figure falling towards him.

“Freyja,” he says. “She wants to reach me.”

Keith Aero Windermere can feel the song as well.

As does Heinz Nerich Windermere, all the way on Planet Windermere IV.

And King Gramis Nerich Windermere feels it inside the _Sigur Valens_.

“What’s going on?” asks Bogue.

“It’s that apple girl,” says Qasim Eberhart.

“I never seen anything like this,” says Commander Yamada.

Hayate transforms his Siegfried to guardian mode.

He extends the left arm, to catch Freyja, falling just slightly slower than she is so he can catch the singer safely.

The palm is open.

And then suddenly the open hand of the veritech is struck by laser fire. Freyja continues to fall to the ocean.

“Freyja!” yells Hayate. He notices a blip on his radar. “The White Knight!”

“Buckeye to Slacker,” says Flying Officer Sterling, “I’ll take care of Freyja. You take care of the White Knight.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll leave Freyja to you.”

Hayate pushes the throttle, flying after Keith.

As Mirage flies downward to catch Freyja, Hayate intercepts Keith.

“The wind has changed,’ says the Aerial Knight.

“I can read his movements,” says Hayate.

The two of them engage, flying through the Ragnan skies, frequently shifting modes.

Meanwhile, Mirage approaches Freyja, slowing down.

Freyja sings as she falls at terminal velocity.

She then catches Walkure’s newest singer in the left hand of her Siegfried veritech in its guardian mode.

She opens her canopy and places Freyja inside the cockpit.

They are only hovering fifty feet above the surface of the Ragnan ocean.

And then, just as Mirage is climbing up into the air, she sees something splash out of the water.

It is the _Elysion_!

“Not bad, Captain,” says Mulder, looking below.

“Open fire!” yells Captain Johnson.

The Elysion is in its storm attack mode, looking like an armless humanoid. On its back are two long booms.

They glow.

Gramis can see what they are about to do.

“Stop them!” he yells.

But the booms discharge an ultra-high energy plasma, striking the _Sigur Valens_!

“You got ‘em, Ernie!” yells Captain Chae.

Freyja continues singing as she sits inside Sterling’s plane.

Hayate can see the White Knight lining up behind him.

Keith opens fire.

And Hayate dodges!

“It can’t be,” says Keith.

“It feels great!:” yells Hayate.

Inside, his neurons are being activated by the song!

He then takes the offensive, going after Keith.

“He’s using my wind!” yells the White Knight.

Flying Officer Sterling can see this.

“He’s flying differently now,” she says, looking at a distance. “It has to be Freyja’s…”

Then then sees a Windermerean fighter close in on her and Freyja.

It explodes in a fireball.

“I have you two covered,” says Second lieutenant Ann Campbell.

“Thanks, Ann,” replies Mirage.

Hayate and Keith fly close together, in guardian mode.

They look at each other and scream.

Their dorsal anti-aircraft lasers charge up.

And thirty fire at each other.

They are still in the air.

Hayate fires with the machine gun in his right arm.

He strikes Keith’s SV -262 Draken veritech.

Gunfire blows right through the cockpit.

And its falls towards the sea, leaving a trail of smoke.

Ooooooo

“Damage to the ship is moderate,” says a Space Force officer.

“We will continue our consolidation with the ruins,” says Chancellor Brehm, smelling some smoke from the battle damage. “All ships are to maintain escort of Space Force One. Do not mind the enemy unless they attack.”

“Yes, sir.”

Elsewhere in a ship, some Space Force medics run as they push a gurney carrying a wounded pilot.

They soon reach the emergency room.

The wounded man is placed on the table. The doctors and medics surround their new patient.

One of the Space Force Medical Corps trauma surgeons looks at the patient. Despite the injury, he recognizes the wounded pilot as his cousin.

“Keith,” says Hendrik.

There is no time to waste.

Hendrik and the others in the emergency do not spare even a fraction of a second in getting on to their work.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ragna was evacuated.

“All ships are in orbit, and all shuttles and fighters are docked,” says a U.N. Spacy captain inside the fleet command center of the SDF-4 _Liberator_.

“We will begin the fold now,” says Admiral Scott Bernard.

The holographic avatar of the Enhanced Video Emulation system appears.

“Calculations for hyperspace fold complete,” she says. “External transit time to new trajectory is two hours.”

“Then do it,” says the Supreme Commander.

And so everything inside the ship seems to double.

All of the U.N.-allied ships glow.

And they fold to hyperspace.

Bernard and Major Larry Marin walk out of the command center. They had just abandoned Ragna. So many had been elft behind, including Lieutenant General Ursula Obrycka.

“Ragna was my first deployment,” says the admiral. “From there, I was deployed on sorties to help liberate the rest of the Cluster. My superiors were so impressed that they gave me a squadron to command.”

“And as I recall, sir,” says Major Marin, “You ended up stranded on an alien-occupied Earth for nearly two years.”

“I will be in my stateroom to deliver my preliminary report to Galaxy City.”

“Yes, sir.”

Oooooooo

“He’s stable,” says Hendrik, wearing blue scrubs. “I will be vigilant of course.”

Chancellor Roid Brehm and the Aerial Knights are all here standing against the wall in the intensive care unit of the _Sigur Valens_ 4th Sick Bay, which is more like a hospital. Keith Aero Windermere lies down on a hospital bed, dressed only in a blue gown. A white bandage with red stains covers his head. A clear mask covers his nose and mouth. Wires connect Keith’s body to electronic equipment monitoring his vital signs such as heart rate, body temperature, and brain activity.

Brehm walks out. “We must trust Hendrik and the other doctors and nurses and medics,” he says to the other Aerial Knights.

“Will you tell Bianca?” asks Master Hermann Kross. “Or shall I tell her?”

“Before I answer, I have important news to share with all of you,” says the Chancellor.

ooooooo

The _Elysion_ had been designed to dock with a clamshell colony ship, just like the SDFs. Already docked with the _Aether_ and the _Leonard_ , the ship fits into a slot in the clamshell that houses downtown Barretteburg.

“Docking complete,” says Beth Morton, sitting inside the _Elysion_ Bridge.

“Thank you,” replies Captain Ernest Johnson, speaking in a soft voice.

“Dr. Singh is calling the bridge,” says Jennifer Ramos.

“I’ll take it through the headset,” says the captain, putting a headset on his head.

“Naomi,” he says.

“Hi, Ernest,” says Dr. Naomi Singh. “Sir, I’d like to request permission to go meet the leaders of Barretteburg. I could do more good out there than in here.”

“Very well, Naomi,” repliers Johnson. “You may go.”

“Thanks, Ernest.”

He then calls the _Leonard_.

“Captain Johnson,” says Captain Ken Chae, his image appearing on a screen.

“Any updates, Captain Chae?” asks Johnson.

“I sent Colonel Waterman and some Space Marines to downtown Barretteburg to coordinate with the authorities there. Our ship’s mission has not changed …yet.”

Ooooooooo

Freyja Wion reaches the observation deck of the _Elysion_ , which once was a seating area for lunch back when the ship was a permanently moored office building.

She can see all sorts of ships in the United Nations allied fleet- both from the United Nations Spacy, United Nations member states, and the Xaos Corporation.

And she can see downtown Barretteburg, the clear dome and the skyscrapers within, now in space over ten parsecs from Planet Ragna.

She sits down on the deck.

Hayate Immelman joins her, placing his left hand on her right shoulder.

They just stare, not knowing what to do next.


End file.
